Crucial Royal Navy meeting to 'protect our people' from Russia set to outline bolstered defences
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Russian spy submarines were recently spotted loitering over British undersea cables
Growing Russian threats to Britain will be confronted as the Royal Navy organises a crucial meeting with allies.
First Sea Lord General Sir Gwyn Jenkins will bring together Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) Chiefs in Whitehall to set out plans to bolster defences in the High North, North Atlantic, and Baltic. Moscow activity has increased in recent months, with the Type 23 frigate HMS St Albans monitoring a pair of Gugi spy submarines which were seen loitering over undersea cables.
General Sir Gwyn Jenkins will host his counterparts to discuss how they can significantly deepen the partnerships and co-operation between the UK and allied northern navies. JEF - led by the UK since it was formed in 2014 - includes Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden.
“The security of the High North and North Atlantic depends on our ability to act together with allies, not occasionally, but permanently and at pace,” the First Sea Lord said. “That is why we need to build on the work of the Joint Expeditionary Force and our closest naval partnerships, moving from irregular responses towards a much deeper partnership. This requires a joint force that is integrated, interoperable, and capable of providing meaningful deterrence. Like the JEF, it would be there to complement NATO.”
Urged to act
Aggression from Vladimir Putin’s fleet above and below the surface has grown more brazen in recent years. There has been a 30 per cent rise in Russian vessels sighted in UK waters in the past two years. Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer has granted the Royal Navy and Royal Marines permission to board shadow fleet vessels - merchant ships which carry sanctioned cargo to boost Russia’s economy - but action has yet to materialise.
In the long term, the Royal Navy is pushing towards a hybrid force under its Atlantic Bastion programme - conventional warships joined with autonomous platforms to patrol the North Atlantic and High North. City-class Type 26 frigates, specialising in hunting submarines, will provide the core of this. The talks will involve JEF becoming a joint force that is more prepared to fight than before. Discussions will focus on improving collective warfighting readiness and enhancing the ability of allied navies to operate together from day one.
Alongside the hybrid navy, the Royal Navy aims to create a force which is interchangeable, where equipment, parts, ammunition, and personnel, can join other forces as they’ll all be using common platforms and other systems.
The UK is exporting some Type 26 frigates to Norway - as part of a mammoth £10bn deal - and Canada. British personnel work alongside Scandinavian forces as part of the Lunna House Agreement, a defensive pact against Russian activity in the North Atlantic.
The First Sea Lord added: “By deepening trust, aligning our capabilities, and operating common platforms and systems, we will generate the collective combat power that can protect our people, our infrastructure, and our shared interests, and if required, fight as one from the very first moment.”