29th May 2025 at 12:07pm
HMS Dragon, HMS Hurworth and HMS Ledbury have been involved in a five-day operation to track Russian naval activity near British waters.
Royal Navy warships and helicopters have once again been called on to monitor Russian activity around the UK – the second such operation this month.
Portsmouth-based HMS Dragon shadowed the Russian intelligence-gathering ship Yuri Ivanov as it lingered off the coast of the Outer Hebrides following Nato’s Formidable Shield exercise.
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The Type 45 destroyer launched a Merlin helicopter to gather further information before the Russian vessel turned north for home in the Arctic.
Meanwhile, in the English Channel, HMS Ledbury, HMS Hurworth and a Merlin Mk2 from 814 Naval Air Squadron tracked the Russian corvette Stoikiy and two merchant ships, Sparta IV and General Skobelev, as they returned from the Mediterranean and transited east through the Channel.
HMS Hurworth kept close watch on the group, supported by Nato aircraft and warships, until it exited the North Sea.
Lieutenant Commander James Bradshaw, Commanding Officer of HMS Hurworth, said: “Monitoring activity on the seas and seabed around the UK is one of the core roles of the Royal Navy’s 2nd Mine-Countermeasures Squadron.
“This operation was all in a day’s work for the ship’s company who have shown great professionalism.
“We have kept a constant watch to ensure the security and integrity of the UK’s critical sea lanes.”
The operation involved support from Nato aircraft and ships, with the Merlin helicopter from RNAS Culdrose tracking the Russian group during the eastbound transit.
It comes just three weeks after HMS Tyne was activated to monitor similar activity, and follows Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s recent commitment to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP.
“Driving the ship close to the Russian vessels has been a new experience for me as a helmsman,” Able Seaman Mine Warfare Wayne Slater, from HMS Hurworth, said.
“Everything has been safe and professional but we’re all trained to make sure we can respond to any aggression or incident whenever non-allied warships are operating near UK waters.”
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