U.K., Norway to jointly hunt Russian submarines under new pact

In this Thursday, July 2, 2009 file photo a new Russian nuclear submarine, Yuri Dolgoruky, is seen during sea trials near Arkhangelsk, Russia. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

A defence pact announced by Britain and Norway on Thursday will see their navies jointly operate a warship fleet to “hunt Russian submarines” in the North Atlantic, the U.K. government said.

The agreement aims to protect critical undersea infrastructure, such as cables, that Western officials say are increasingly under threat from Moscow.

It comes as Britain’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) reports that sightings of Russian vessels in U.K. waters have increased 30 per cent in the past two years.

Norway announced in September the purchase of at least five Type-26 frigates from Britain for £10 billion (US$13 billion).

The latest announcement coincides with a visit by U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his Norwegian counterpart Jonas Gahr Store to a Royal Air Force base in northern Scotland.

Under the pact, the two countries will operate a fleet of 13 British-built frigates on an “interchangeable” basis.

They will monitor Russian naval activity in the waters between Greenland, Iceland and the U.K., “defending critical infrastructure such as underwater cables and pipelines, which carry vital communications, electricity and gas”, the MoD said in a statement.

“At this time of profound global instability, as more Russian ships are being detected in our waters, we must work with international partners to protect our national security,” said Starmer.

Last month, U.K. Defence Minister John Healey warned Russia after saying that its military ship Yantar had entered British waters for the second time this year.

He said that it had directed lasers at British air force pilots in a “deeply dangerous” move.

Britain and NATO allies have expressed growing concern about the risk Moscow poses to offshore infrastructure following the suspected sabotage in recent months of several undersea telecom and power cables.

Experts and politicians have accused Moscow of orchestrating a hybrid war against Western countries, most of which support Ukraine following Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country in 2022.