British Royal navy frigate monitors major Russian vessel to get "critical intel data"

A British Royal Navy frigate, HMS Portland, was monitoring Russia’s guided missile frigate Admiral Gorshkov armed with Zircon hypersonic missiles, and the accompanying tanker Kama as they were sailing in international waters close to the UK’s borders, according to a recent statement by the Royal Navy.

“HMS Portland is monitoring the Russian guided missile frigate Admiral Gorshkov and accompanying tanker Kama as they sail in international waters close to the UK. The Type 23 frigate joined the Norwegian Coast Guard vessel, Bergen, as the Russian ships transited south through the Norwegian Sea,” the Royal Navy said in a statement on January 11, Eurasian Times writes.

“Portland, with her specialist Merlin helicopter embarked – both equipped with cutting-edge sonars, sensors, and torpedoes for specialist operations – is tracking and reporting on the movements of the Russian ships through the North Sea,” the statement continued.

“Escorting warships in UK territorial waters and the adjacent sea areas is a routine activity for the Royal Navy,” said Commander Ed Moss-Ward, the commanding officer of Portland, while adding that by maintaining a visible and persistent presence, the Royal Navy ensures compliance with maritime law and deters malign activity to protect the UK’s interests.

The Russian frigate Admiral Gorshkov armed with Zircon hypersonic missile was flagged off by the Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on January 4 to travel across the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and the Mediterranean Sea.

This is the first time Russia has sent a vessel armed with hypersonic missiles for operational duty. The ship also fired the Zircon hypersonic missile about 1,000 kilometres away in the Barents Sea. Hypersonic missiles can strike at sea and ground targets and travel at Mach 9 (11,113 kilometres per hour).

The Zircon missile can reportedly evade even the most advanced American defences, and therefore, Western military commentators suggest this voyage is a subtle move by President Putin to project power.

After the Atlantic, Admiral Gorshkov is scheduled to enter the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.

This is just one of several instances where the Royal Navy has shadowed a Russian warship which the service has been doing since the days of the Cold War.

On one such occasion, more than 20 years ago, a Royal Navy nuclear submarine accomplished a remarkable feat by sneaking under a Soviet Aircraft Carrier to take underwater pictures of the carrier.

In 1977, during the height of the cold war, HMS Swiftsure (S-126) managed to slip into a large-scale Soviet Northern Fleet exercise in the Barents Sea.

The submarine penetrated undetected through layers of escort screens of destroyers and frigates and approached the Soviet aircraft carrier Kiev and recorded highly valuable acoustic signatures, and took underwater periscope pictures of the carrier’s hull and propellers.

Most importantly, the Soviet Navy did not get even the whiff of the presence of a NATO attack submarine and the wealth of information it could gather.