After persistent airspace violations with drones, it seems Russia is now testing Europe’s resolve with its prowling submarines, as tensions rise between NATO’s European partners and Moscow.
According to the UK, it has detected a 30 percent increase in Russian vessels posing a threat to U.K. waters in the past two years.
These prowling Russian submarines are also a threat to critical undersea infrastructure, oil and gas pipelines, and data cables that are crucial to everyday life and are highly vulnerable to sabotage and difficult to protect.
Nearly 98 percent of the world’s data passes through these undersea cables.
Determined to send a tough signal to Moscow, the UK and Norway have decided to beef up patrols in the strategic North Atlantic Ocean. The two countries will send more than a dozen warships out to hunt Russian submarines and shield critical undersea infrastructure in this crucial maritime region.
The decision comes as tensions between NATO’s European partners and Russia are at an all-time high. While peace in Ukraine remains ever elusive, there are fears that the three-year-old war could widen to include NATO’s Eastern European members as well.
Meanwhile, in a stark warning to Europe, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Moscow is ready to fight Europe “right now.”
“Russia does not intend to fight Europe, but if Europe starts, we are ready right now,” Putin said, in his most blunt warning to Europe in years.
“They are on the side of war,” Putin said of European powers, blaming them for preventing the US administration from achieving peace in Ukraine.
Russia’s airspace violations of NATO’s Eastern flank continue unabated.
Just in November, Russian drones have been downed in Estonia near a military base housing US troops, and have been sighted in Romania, forcing the Eastern European country and NATO member to scramble fighter jets.
Similarly, alleged Russian drone incursions in Lithuania in October forced the authorities to close Vilnius Airport.
Earlier in September, in a notable incident, more than 20 alleged Russian drones entered Poland, flying up to 50 km into Polish territory.
These repeated drone incursions and sightings of Russian submarines near the maritime boundaries of NATO countries have been termed part of the Kremlin’s “hybrid warfare”.
However, it seems that the UK and Norway have decided to challenge the belligerence of Russian submarines in the North Atlantic Ocean by deploying more ships and increasing patrols.
The UK & Norway To Hunt Russian Submarines
The UK defense ministry said that at least 13 Type 26 anti-submarine warfare ships will be backed up by drones in the North Atlantic, including the waters between Greenland, Iceland, and the UK, commonly referred to as the GIUK Gap.
This region is crucial as Russia uses these waters to send its submarines armed with conventional, long-range cruise missiles out toward the US or the Atlantic.
Of the 13, Norway will contribute at least five ships, and the UK will contribute eight Type 26 anti-submarine frigates for patrols in the Atlantic Ocean. However, since the frigates are still under construction, these patrols will not begin until at least the late 2020s or the early 2030s.
These frigates will be interchangeable and built in Britain under the new Lunna House Agreement. Lunna House was the Norwegian resistance headquarters in Scotland during World War II.
Earlier in September, the UK signed a £10 billion (USD 13.36 billion) deal with Norway to supply the country with five Type 26 frigates designed for anti-submarine warfare, marking the largest warship export deal in British history.
The vessels will be built at BAE Systems’ Govan shipyards in Glasgow and support some 4,000 jobs across the UK.
The Type 26 vessels for Norway will match the specifications of their British counterparts, featuring advanced sonar suites, anti-torpedo defences, and flexible mission bays.
“At this time of profound global instability, as more Russian ships are being detected in our waters, we must work with international partners to protect our national security,” the British Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, said at the time of signing the agreement.
“This historic agreement with Norway strengthens our ability to protect our borders and the critical infrastructure our nations depend on.”
“In this new era of threat and with increasing Russian activity in the North Atlantic, our strength comes from hard power and strong alliances. When our critical infrastructure and waters are threatened, we step up,” Defense Secretary John Healey said.
“For over 75 years, the UK and Norway have stood shoulder-to-shoulder on NATO’s northern flank, defending Europe and keeping our people safe. This partnership takes us further, making our nations more secure at home and strong abroad.”
Besides, the Lunna House Agreement will include a program to build offshore support vessels that will act as motherships for uncrewed mine-hunting and undersea warfare systems, a program to train Royal Marines in Norway to fight in sub-zero temperatures, and the Royal Navy adopting advanced Norwegian naval strike missiles.
Meanwhile, earlier this week, the UK Government confirmed for the first time that the Royal Navy’s new Type 26 frigates will carry the STRATUS LO strike missile.
During a parliamentary debate, Defense Minister Luke Pollard said the Royal Navy has “a requirement called the Future Offensive Surface Weapon (FoSUW) which will provide a long-range anti-ship strike weapon with land attack capabilities, compatible with the Mk41 Vertical Launch System.”
This requirement “will be met through the Future Cruise Anti-Ship Weapon (FCASW) programme, which comprises two concept solutions, STRATUS LO and STRATUS RS,” he added.
Pollard also confirmed that “the STRATUS LO concept is planned to be integrated onto the Type 26 frigate to meet the Royal Navy FoSUW requirement.”
The STRATUS missile family is a UK–France programme rebranded from FC/ASW in 2025.
According to the UK defence journal, the STRATUS LO is a subsonic, low-observable cruise-strike weapon designed for long-range engagements against land or maritime targets, intended to provide a modern replacement for older systems, including Storm Shadow, SCALP, Harpoon, and Exocet.
Notably, the UK and Norway are both members of NATO and have pledged to increase their defense spending to at least 2% of GDP and to accelerate equipment procurement in the face of Russia’s military build-up.
Their naval buildup comes as Russian spy ships and submarines have been frequently sighted in the Atlantic Ocean and near the UK in recent months.
According to the British Defense Secretary John Healey, a Russian spy ship, Yantar, had pointed lasers at British pilots watching the vessel near UK waters in November this year.
At the time, Healey also delivered a direct message to President Vladimir Putin, saying, “We see you. We know what you’re doing. If the Yantar travels south this week, we are ready.”
The same ship was spotted off the British coast in January.
Also in November, the UK government had intercepted a Russian warship, the Stoikiy, and one of Moscow’s tanker vessels off its southern coast.
Furthermore, in 2024, a series of undersea cable-damaging incidents were linked to Russia’s “shadow fleet”.
The addition of 13 Type 26 frigates to the UK and Norway’s naval fleets will definitely boost their capabilities in the crucial North Atlantic.
- Sumit Ahlawat has over a decade of experience in news media. He has worked with Press Trust of India, Times Now, Zee News, Economic Times, and Microsoft News. He holds a Master’s Degree in International Media and Modern History from the University of Sheffield, UK.
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