We’re all at sea in the hunt for a Russian submarine
Defence chiefs need US planes for search
DEFENCE chiefs have been forced to call for help from the US after a suspected Russian submarine was seen off the Scottish coast.
The Ministry of Defence asked the US Navy to send out patrol aircraft to track the vessel because the UK no longer has its own maritime surveillance aircraft.
The RAF’s £4billion fleet of Nimrods – which would previously have been used for search operations – was scrapped in 2010.
It has left what experts describe as a ‘gaping chasm’ i n Britain’s antisubmarine capability and raised serious questions about the UK’s ability to protect its own submarines.
American P3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft, currently based at RAF Lossiemouth, in Moray, were deployed to track the submarine in the North Atlantic – the second time in as many months that the MoD has had to seek outside help to deal with foreign submarines in British territorial waters.
After the latest suspected submarine sighting, the American aircrews were this week working with the Royal Navy’s anti- submarine frigate HMS Somerset, which has been operating off Scotland for a month.
The incident is said to be linked to the apparent departure from Faslane naval base of one of the Royal Navy’s Vanguard- class nuclear submarines, which carries Trident missiles. The base, at Gare Loch on the Firth of Clyde, is the home of the UK’s ballistic missile submarines.
Peter Roberts, a senior fellow of the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies, said MoD chiefs had been ‘ scratching their heads’ ever since Nimrod was scrapped, explaining: ‘It has left a gaping chasm in the UK’s capabilities and left us highly dependent on cooperation from our allies.’
He added: ‘HMS Somerset is a capable platform and I have no doubt that her deployment alongside these US aircraft is related to the reported departure of a Navy Vanguard ballistic missile submarine from Faslane, and the countering of any Russian deployment from over the horizon.’
SNP defence spokesman Angus Robertson said the incident showed Britain was now turning to its allies with a ‘begging bowl’.
Last month, maritime patrol aircraft from Canada, France and the US were deployed after a periscope was sighted in waters where British submarines would normally surface or submerge as they head into or out of Faslane. It was suggested a Russian submarine may have been trying to track one of Britain’s four Vanguard-class vessels.
David Cameron axed the Nimrod MRA4 surveillance planes – intended to replace the Nimrod MR2 – in October 2010 as part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review.
Top military figures and MPs warned it would weaken UK defences – and even the then Defence Secretary Liam Fox admitted the move was a ‘risk’.
According to sources, ‘visits’ from Russian submarines are happening quite often off the north and west coasts of Scotland.
In October, Sweden mounted a search for a suspected Russian submarine thought to be operating close to its shore.
In November, the Navy tracked four Russian warships through the English Channel. The ships were escorted out of UK waters by HMS Tyne.
On the latest incident, an MoD spokesman 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.’
Regarding the cuts, it said: ‘Tough decisions had to be taken in order to rebalance the defence budget.’
Comment – Page 16
‘Gaping chasm in UK’s capabilities’