'Lose the war at sea and you lose': First Sea Lord calls to rebuild Royal Navy to deal with Russia 'threat'

Britain needs to regain its naval stronghold or risk being left behind by an emboldened Russia, the First Sea Lord has said.

The head of the Royal Navy, General Sir Gwyn Jenkins, believes the UK needs to rebuild her fleet or risk being left behind as Moscow targets critical undersea cable. Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, he said more traditional warships and drones are needed to protect the Atlantic.

While advanced new Type 31 and 26 ships are being built - with other programmes such as the Common Combat Vessels further behind - the majority of the reinforcements are not expected until the 2030s. Sir Gwyn said: “The greatest threat to our security today is Russia.

“Russia retains advanced submarines that are increasingly difficult to track, long-range precision weapons, and specialist systems designed to operate deep underwater. Russia is probing, testing and mapping. It seeks advantage in the grey zone, particularly around the critical undersea infrastructure on which modern societies rely.

“And among Ukraine’s Western allies, Russia considers us to be one of its greatest foes. We know that Russia is probing us for weakness. And we are facing threats in a way we have not been since the Cold War.”

Sir Gwyn previously warned the public of Moscow’s expanding force of submarines, which is posing problems in the North Atlantic. He said two warships were deployed every week to monitor Vladimir Putin’s vessels. Such activities have risen by 30 per cent over the past two years.

Sign up for The Week in Defence with Freddie Webb - our newsletter rounding up the sector’s must-read stories

“Churchill attached such significance to the Atlantic because he understood something important,” Sir Gwyn added. “The sea is not peripheral to Britain – it is existential.

“Sea power not only sustained us during the war. It arguably saved us. Lose the war at sea and you lose the war. That was the warning of Admiral Pound, the first sea lord of the day, and it remains true now.

“If we are to prevail in the Atlantic again, we must strengthen our warfighting readiness and rediscover what it means to be a maritime nation.”

Last week, it was revealed that British, American, and Norwegian forces has disrupted a covert Russian operation in the Arctic. The Kremlin were reportedly using its submarines to test a new secret weapon. Prime minister Andy Burnham said discussions about raising defence spending to three per cent of GDP by 2030 would take place at the spending review, but said national security will not come at the expense of social security; stating it wasn’t a binary choice between funding the military or the welfare budget.