UK’S flotilla sets sail.. ..but Russia is waiting
THE LARGEST naval flotilla for 40 years led by Britain’s newest carrier set sail yesterday for a seven-month world odyssey to showcase the nation’s “defence, diplomacy and prosperity”.
But strong-arm rivals threaten choppy waters ahead as the Carrier Strike Group (CSG) travels through five seas and oceans and visits 40 countries.
Aircraft carrier HMS Queen
Elizabeth, which left from Portsmouth with its state-of-the-art F-35B jets, leads the flotilla of Royal Navy, US and Dutch vessels.
Meanwhile, two spy ships from Russia’s Northern fleet are already off northern Scotland, desperate to harvest any intelligence.
They were spotted a week ago by an RAF Lossiemouth-based US Navy aircraft south of Iceland.
Moscow is also thought to have planted other ships on the route, aware that two CSG vessels will also be spending time in Vladimir Putin’s Black Sea back yard.
While the Royal Navy is unconcerned about Russian surface surveillance – a source said, “a nuclear submarine under there is enough to move them on” – trouble of a different type lies ahead once the group leaves the Suez Canal.
Intelligence reports warn of a potential suicide attack by Iranianbacked Houthi rebels after Saudi forces destroyed a bomb-laden boat in the Red Sea last week.
To counter this, British Special Forces will mount a top-secret intelligence gathering mission of their own, arriving three weeks ahead of the CSG.
Special Boat Service commandos will join the Saudis in an operation to “sweep” the Red Sea using drones and fast patrol boats as the Queen Elizabeth leaves the Suez and heads towards the Gulf of Aden.
Last year, Yemen’s Saudi-led coalition said it detected and destroyed 171 Houthi mines in Red Sea waters.
A source said yesterday: “This is a route that Royal Navy ships have taken for many years, but it is clear that threat levels have increased. A reconnaissance has been made and we will have been on the ground as well as air assets.”
When the CSG approaches the South China Sea, things may become even more tense.
In 2018, Beijing sent a frigate and two helicopters to challenge the presence of HMS Albion.
Both sides remained calm during the encounter but earlier this year China warned it would take
“necessary measures to safeguard its sovereignty”. Former Type 23 frigate captain Commander Tom Sharpe recently told the Henry Jackson Society think tank: “We can guarantee China will overfly the group with aircraft and test its responses, and close in with surface ships.
“We may also be met by a Chinese submarine east of Suez.
“If they want to cause real mischief, they may try to repeat what they did in 2007 when an undetected Song class Chinese submarine emerged in the middle of a US fleet.”
East Asian warfare and security expert Alessio Patalano, of King’s College London, said: “China considers itself the new kid on the block and will feel that it has to demonstrate its own ability as the CSG approaches. “They will be testing us.”
HMS Queen Elizabeth’s first task is to join the naval part of Exercise Joint Warrior, Uk-led war games involving 10 nations, 31 warships, three submarines, 150 aircraft and 13,400 military personnel.
The maritime element, Strike Warrior, is a final test of equipment before the CSG sails to more distant waters.
Commanded by Commodore Steve Moorhouse, the group will contain a permanent core of nine vessels, including the US destroyer USS The Sullivans and Dutch frigate HNLMS Evertsen.
Navies taking part in exercises include France, India and Japan.
Yesterday, CSG sailors said a final goodbye to their families as each vessel sailed separately to Scottish waters.
They will take part in Strike Warrior before the group deploys fully at the end of the month.