UK Royal Navy Deploys Destroyer with NATO to Shadow Russian Warship

The UK’s Royal Navy regularly reports on its efforts at monitoring the movement of Russian warships and support ships through the English Channel, but recently it marked a first with NATO. The Portsmouth-based HMS Duncan was activated by NATO Allied Maritime Command for the shadow operation.

The latest vessel they were following was the Russian destroyer Vice Admiral Kulakov. The 6,200-displacement ton warship has been operative with the Russian Navy since 1981. Part of the Udaloy class, the vessel is 163 meters (535 feet) in length and reportedly armed with missiles and anti-submarine warfare.

The latest operation led by NATO also involved the Dutch Air Force and the French Navy in coordination with the Royal Navy. HMS Duncan was deployed along with a Royal Navy helicopter.

The Type 45 destroyer is reported to have used her sensors and other systems to intercept the Kulakov while it was in the North Sea. The Royal Navy reports it monitored the passage of the warship westward through the Channel towards the island of Ushant off the French coast.

HMS Duncan is one of two Royal Navy warships attached to NATO’s task force patrolling northern European waters. Duncan patrolled waters closer to the UK, while the Type 23 frigate HMS Somerset has been used for Maritime Security Patrols in the sea lanes between Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and Scotland. Somerset, they report, has been deployed since August and undertook port visits in the Faroe Islands and Iceland for a period of R&R for the crew. Commanding Officer Matt Millyard of HMS Somerset reports they are prepared for “an even busier period over the next few months.”

The monitoring has become a regular duty for the ships of the Royal Navy, along with members of NATO. There was a little added attention recently when a Russian submarine surfaced for its transit through the English Channel. There were widespread reports that the vessel was having mechanical troubles or had possibly suffered a fuel leak. Russian sources denied it, saying it was standard procedure to travel on the surface through the busy shipping lane.