Russia installs spy sensors in UK seas

Russian spy sensors found in British waters could be part of Moscow’s campaign to spy on nuclear submarines.

The British military has discovered Russian spy sensors hidden in the seas around the UK, the the “Telegraph” reports.

The devices, believed to be designed to track British nuclear submarines, were found after some of them washed ashore and were discovered by the Royal Navy. The devices are now seen as a serious threat to national security.

The situation has previously been classified, but The Sunday Times has learned that Russia may have been trying to gain intelligence on four British Vanguard nuclear-powered submarines. One of the submarines is at sea as part of Britain’s ongoing nuclear deterrent.

Moscow is actively developing a submarine fleet, which has high-tech equipment for underwater warfare and espionage. During the war with Ukraine, Russia significantly intensified operations to sabotage underwater Internet connections, energy pipelines and military cables, which are critically important for the West.

In particular, over the past 15 months, no fewer than 11 Internet cables have been damaged in the Baltic Sea, probably due to the actions of Russian ships that deliberately dragged anchors along the seabed. The corresponding actions have become part of Russia’s expanded strategy to destabilize critical infrastructure facilities.

In view of the new threats, NATO recently launched the Nordic Warden project, which uses artificial intelligence to track the activity of the Russian “shadow fleet”. This step became necessary after the damage to one of the important cables between Estonia and Finland in December last year.

“There should be no doubt that there is a war raging in the Atlantic,” a senior British military official said. “It is a game of cat and mouse that has been gaining momentum since the end of the Cold War, and we are seeing Russia’s activity increasing.”

The Russian reconnaissance ship Yantar also caught London’s attention when it appeared near the British coast the day before. The vessel is engaged in underwater research controlled by the Main Directorate for Deep-Sea Research, which is part of Russian intelligence.

Senior sources point out that in the conditions of modern technology, it is very similar to the space race – you cannot get clarity, but there is enough evidence to understand that something important is happening.

In response to these challenges, the British army is strengthening security measures on its maritime infrastructure and continues to patrol the territory together with NATO allies, using the latest technologies, including artificial intelligence, to combat Russian espionage.

“We have to play by the rules of the game. But now we have become more muscular,” said a representative of the Ministry of Defense of the United Kingdom. As USM wrote, Denmark plans to build more than 20 warships in view of new threats in the Baltic Sea and the Arctics.