This article is from the source 'independent' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/mod-asks-for-american-help-in-searching-for-russian-submarines-near-scotland-9966080.html
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 0 | Version 1 |
---|---|
MoD asks for American help in searching for Russian submarine near Scotland | |
(35 minutes later) | |
The Ministry of Defence has been forced to request US military assistance to track a suspected Russian submarine off the coast of Scotland. | |
Two US Navy aircraft have been conducting anti-submarine patrols in the North Atlantic Ocean this week on the trail of a Russian vessel in the area. A Royal Navy anti-submarine frigate has also been dispatched. | |
It is believed that the Russian submarine’s presence could be linked to the recent reported departure of one of the Royal Navy’s Vanguard missile submarines from the Faslane naval base on the west coast of Scotland. Vanguard submarines carry Britain’s Trident nuclear deterrent. | |
The US planes - two P3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft - were called in to fill what defence experts have described as a “gapping chasm” in Britain’s anti-submarine capability following the scrapping of the Nimrod patrol aircraft fleet in 2010. | |
SNP defence spokesman Angus Robertson MP said the US Navy’s deployment of two aircraft showed that Britain had resorted to going to its allies with a “begging bowl”, while defence analysts said it created question over the UK’s ability to adequately protect its nuclear deterrent. | |
Defence sources said that “visits” from Russian submarines were “happening quite often” off the north and west coasts of Scotland. | |
This week’s operation follows a deployment by maritime patrol aircraft from Canada, France and the U.S last month, which was first revealed in Aviation Week. | |
On that occasion there were suggested the a suspected Russian submarine may have been trying to track one of the UK’s Vanguard submarines after “unknown submarine periscope” was spotted by a fishing trawler close to the Faslane base on the Clyde. | |
During this week’s search the US patrol aircraft have been co-operating with Royal Navy anti-submarine frigate HMS Somerset which has been operating off Scotland since early December. | |
According to aviation photographer at RAF Lossiemouth the US aircraft, which are known as Skinny Dragons and are usually based in Hawaii, have been flying up to two missions per day since New Year’s Eve. | |
Peter Roberts, a senior fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, said: “HMS Somerset is a capable platform and I’ve got no doubt her deployment alongside these US Navy aircraft is related to the reported departure of a Royal Navy Vanguard ballistic missile submarine from Faslane and the countering of any Russian deployment from over the horizon.” | Peter Roberts, a senior fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, said: “HMS Somerset is a capable platform and I’ve got no doubt her deployment alongside these US Navy aircraft is related to the reported departure of a Royal Navy Vanguard ballistic missile submarine from Faslane and the countering of any Russian deployment from over the horizon.” |
Jeffrey Lewis, a nuclear policy expert with the Monterey Institute of International Studies, said: “I would put my money on it being a Russian attack submarine with cruise missiles on a patrol taking it past Britain and into the north Atlantic and on the US eastern seaboard.” He added: “The Russians are trying to threaten NATO and NATO is threatening them right back by showing that we can shadow them and that if they tried this for real we would be able to kill them.” | |
However the US Navy intervention has led to questions over the UK’s ability to screen its nuclear deterrent since the scrapping of the Royal Navy Nimrod fleet. Mr Roberts said: “MoD chiefs have been scratching their heads ever since Nimrod was scrapped in a highly political decision. It has left a gapping chasm in the UK’s capabilities and left us highly dependent on co-operation from our Allies.” | |
The scrapped Nimrod MRA4s were due to replace Britain’s ageing maritime patrol fleet - with a main job of ensuring no foreign submarines could track the Vanguards as they came in and out of their base at Faslane. They were scrapped despite a National Audit Commission ruling that the loss of the aircraft would have “an adverse effect on the protection of the strategic nuclear deterrent, the provision of which is one of the Ministry of Defence’s standing strategic tasks”. | |
A spokesperson for the MoD said, “We can confirm that the UK recently requested assistance from allied forces for basing of maritime patrol aircraft at RAF Lossiemouth for a limited period. The aircraft have been conducting maritime patrol activity with the Royal Navy; we do not discuss the detail of maritime operations”. | |
The spokesman added: “Tough decisions had to be taken in order to rebalance the Defence budget, which included removing the Nimrod MR2 from service. However, maritime surveillance is provided through a combination of layered capabilities including surface ships, submarines, and air assets such as the RAF Hercules which searched for the missing yacht Cheeki Rafiki in May. The UK continues to work closely with its NATO allies in the operation of Maritime Patrol Aircraft.” | |