Politics

UK and nine allies launch Northern Navies Initiative against Russian naval buildup

Defence minister dubs it the alliance of beer-drinking nations, Royal Navy frigates could fall from twelve to three by 2030

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The new maritime defence initiative comes in response to a 41% increase in Russian naval activity around the UK, such as when the Smyrtos, an oil tanker within Russia’s shadow fleet, sailed south of the Isle of Wight, prompting interception by UK forces. Photograph: LPhot Hutchins/MoD Crown copyright/PA The new maritime defence initiative comes in response to a 41% increase in Russian naval activity around the UK, such as when the Smyrtos, an oil tanker within Russia’s shadow fleet, sailed south of the Isle of Wight, prompting interception by UK forces. Photograph: LPhot Hutchins/MoD Crown copyright/PA theguardian.com

Russian naval activity around the UK rose 41 percent in the first nine months of the year, according to Luke Pollard, the minister for defence readiness, who called the increase "huge." The Royal Navy has announced plans for a ten-country response: the Northern Navies Initiative, combining the UK, the Netherlands and the Baltic and Nordic countries, with sea drones built to work interchangeably with allied warships.

Pollard calls the allied group "the alliance of beer-drinking nations." The Royal Navy's frigate count, meanwhile, could fall from twelve in 2021 to three by 2030, and last month the cross-party defence select committee warned the navy risks failing to deter Russian aggression in the seas around the UK because of shortfalls in the number and availability of warships and submarines.

Russian spy ships, including the Yantar, have sailed near UK waters this year, mapping undersea cables and building "an increased picture of our critical national infrastructure," Pollard said. Russian frigates have operated in the North Sea and the Channel throughout the year, escorting oil tankers and other trade vessels. In June, Russian frigates fired shots near a pleasure yacht south of the Isle of Wight, and the Russia-linked tanker Smyrtos — part of the shadow fleet — was seized the same month.

The plan pairs drones with the remaining warships: British autonomous systems teamed with a British, Danish or Norwegian warship, with control handed off between allied vessels, "because that would increase our lethality," Pollard said. The June investment plan includes £1.5bn in sea drones over four years, and October's budget added £10bn a year to defence in 2030. No major defence spending announcements have followed the budget.

Pollard blamed the Conservatives, who he said cut budgets and delayed investment while in government: "because of the decisions taken 10, 15 years ago, we have fewer ships and fewer submarines than I would like available." The initiative was presented in Oslo on the same day American envoys opened talks with Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi on a new European security framework.

Pollard insisted the Royal Navy was "ready to fight tonight." In the spring, after the UK base at Akrotiri was struck by a drone fired by an Iranian proxy, it took three weeks to send a destroyer to Cyprus.