Royal Navy warships and helicopters conducted 21 days of operations in July to monitor Russian activity in UK waters and the North Atlantic. This activity represents a 25% increase in monitoring operations across the first seven months of 2026 compared to the same period in 2025.
HMS Somerset, HMS Tyne, HMS Mersey, and HMS Severn were deployed, alongside Wildcat helicopters from 815 Naval Air Squadron and Merlin submarine hunting aircraft. Their task was to report on the movements of Russian warships and submarines.
During July, the Russian frigate RFN Neustrashimy repeatedly transited the UK’s area of responsibility, escorting shadow fleet tankers. HMS Tyne was on duty on July 20 when Neustrashimy carried out gunnery firings outside UK and French territorial waters, with HMS Tyne moving to five nautical miles to gather intelligence.
HMS Severn was activated twice in July, shadowing RFN Admiral Grigorovich and later intercepting and shadowing Neustrashimy as it escorted the shadow fleet tanker MV Vulkan.