Overview
- Healey said Thursday that UK and Norwegian forces spent weeks tracking an Akula attack sub and two GUGI deep-sea vessels near cables and gas pipelines in the North Atlantic, then watched them head north with no damage found.
- Royal Navy ships, RAF P-8 patrol aircraft, helicopters, and sonar buoys were used to watch the submarines in real time and to signal that their movements were not covert.
- The Kremlin confirmed a Russian warship escorted the sanctioned tankers Universal and Enigma through the English Channel, testing the UK’s late‑March policy to intercept so‑called shadow‑fleet ships that move Russian oil.
- London announced an extra £100 million to expand P‑8 anti‑submarine flights and kept naval and air assets on standby in case Russian vessels return.
- Undersea cables carry most internet traffic and pipelines move key energy to the UK, and GUGI-operated subs can inspect or tamper with seabed links, which is driving tighter NATO patrols and tougher sanctions enforcement at sea.