Russian subs ‘lurking’ near Faslane

RUSSIAN submarines have been caught “lurking” near the Faslane naval base on the Clyde, with increasing numbers of their naval vessels being detected in UK waters, a foreign affairs think-tank has found.

The Russian subs are thought to be attempting to identify the “acoustic signature” of Britain’s Vanguard submarines to track and potentially sink them before they can launch their nuclear missiles, according to the Henry Jackson Society.

Experts say the “alarmingly regular” contacts paint “a worrying picture of the revival of Cold War Russian habits of probing our defences by sea and, especially, by air”.

In one incident in August 2010, a Russian Akula-class Typhoon submarine stood off Faslane “waiting for a Trident-capable Vanguard-class submarine to leave the port for its three-month patrol”.

On two occasions in 2015, the UK was unable to deal with the threat posed by suspected Russian submarines positioned off the Scottish coast and had to seek assistance from Canada, France, and the United States, the society said.