UK Navy chief sounds red alert over Russia’s undersea warfare

Britain and its allies could face potentially unavoidable “catastrophic events” as they struggle to contain Russia’s growing undersea capabilities, the head of the Royal Navy has warned.

General Sir Gwyn Jenkins, the First Sea Lord, said Russia’s “very capable submarines” and an advanced research programme focused on underwater infrastructure posed a “real concern.”

Speaking to Defence Talks, a podcast by the Council on Geostrategy, Jenkins said “alliances feel fragile” and warned of “a number of possible scenarios in future that could lead to catastrophic events with no certainty we can avoid them”.

“Let’s not forget that we are an island nation, we are utterly dependent on the sea for all our data, virtually all our trade, virtually all our energy,” Jenkins said.

“In the maritime environment, in particular with the Russian threat at the moment, I see a real growth in undersea capability that we are, if we’re really honest as allies, we are struggling to contain.”

“Very capable submarines, a very advanced so-called research programme, which is directly aimed at our critical underwater infrastructure.”

Jenkins specifically highlighted Russia’s Main Directorate of Deep-Sea Research, known as Gugi, which operates autonomous monitoring stations and is suspected of mapping Western undersea cables. He described the programme as an “independent arm of the Russian state” whose purpose includes targeting critical underwater infrastructure during a transition to war or using it as economic leverage.

The warning comes amid heightened UK-Russia tensions, after Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova threatened strikes on British military sites and equipment in response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory using British missiles.

Jenkins also stressed the importance of the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force, saying it could respond to crises before NATO mobilizes.

On military technology, he warned Britain must embrace autonomous warfare, saying: “My job is not to lose, my job is to win.”

By Vafa Guliyeva