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Two British warships were deployed to escort a pair of Russian military vessels from the English Channel, it has been revealed.
The RAF said today that the Royal Navy had deployed HMS Cattistock and HMS Somerset to the waters near Folkestone and Dover to escort the Russian destroyer Severomorsk and landing ship Aleksandr Shabalin away from UK territory.
The air force said its P-8 Poseidon Force detected the threat yesterday, adding that the Royal Navy had sent out the British warships that day.
Belgium’s military said its navy had detected the Severomorsk in NATO waters during ‘the night of 15 to 16 March.’
The Severomorsk, which is more than 530ft long and 20ft wide, has a top speed of 35 knots (40mph).
It is stocked with eight anti-aircraft and naval cannons, 72 anti-ship and surface-to-air missiles and 44 anti-submarine torpedoes and rocket launchers. It is crewed by a complement of 300 people, and on top of this, it can carry up to two Ka-27 military helicopters.
The Aleksandr Shabalin, meanwhile, is 369ft long and 49ft wide. It has a top speed of 18 knots (20mph), and is armed with two gun mounts and six missiles.
But it can carry up to 500 tonnes of armoured vehicles and 225 marines.
This isn’t the first time the Aleksandr Shabalin has been seen in British waters.
In January, the landing ship was seen stalking the English Channel. The RAF said it used a a P-8A Poseidon plane from RAF Lossiemouth to track its movements.
It is not currently known why the two Russian warships were seen near the UK.
But their appearance comes just weeks after another Russian military vessel was seen escorting a sanctioned Russia-linked cargo ship through the English Channel.
Armed personnel were seen manning machine guns on the Boikiy, a 343ft-long Russian corvette that can carry up to 99 men at a time.
The warship moved in step with the large cargo ship sanctioned by the U.S. in 2022 for transporting weapons for Russia, which has been getting bolder on the world stage in recent weeks as tensions in Ukraine reached a boiling point and the US rendered British Storm Shadow missiles useless.
The Baltic Leader was this time carrying a shipment of military hardware from a Russian base in Tartus, Syria, where Kremlin operations are being wound down in the wake of the fall of dictator Bashar al-Assad.
James Droxford, of the intelligence consultancy Droxford Maritime, said: ‘The recovered military hardware onboard Baltic Leader could be used to reinforce Russia’s combat capability in Ukraine, or to replenish military stocks in other key Russian military regions.’
The Boikiy’s escort mission began at 5am on March 3, south of Torquay.
The convoy slowly travelled across the English Channel, before it was followed by two vessels, HMS Somerset from the Royal Navy and Belgian Navy vessel BNS Crocus.
The Baltic Leader was then seen leaving the English Channel on March 4 at 2pm.
Somerset, which is bristling with its own array of weapons – including anti-ship missiles and a 4.5-inch naval gun – stalked the ships through the North Sea and English Channel.
A Royal Navy spokesman said: ‘The British Type 23 frigate utilised its powerful sensors and radars to report on Russian movements, launching her Merlin helicopter from 814 Naval Air Squadron to gather valuable information from the sky.
‘The ship worked hand in hand with UK patrol aircraft and allied Nato forces during the operation, providing constant watch on the task group.’
Somerset was scrambled on March 1 as the Russian warship headed south through the North Sea and English Channel to meet Baltic Leader, the Royal Navy said.
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