Royal Navy continues to track Russian naval vessels around UK supported by RAF ...

RN warships and helicopters conducted three operations during late September and October to monitor Russian naval and sanctions-linked shipping around the UK. The activity also saw the RAF’s new Protector RG1 remotely piloted aircraft (RPAS) used operationally in UK airspace for the first time, providing more than 10 hours of surveillance over the English Channel.

HMS Dauntless and patrol ship HMS Tyne were tasked between 1 and 14 October to monitor Russian Baltic Fleet frigate RFS Neustrashimy as she escorted sanctioned shipping through the English Channel. The frigate has spent much of the summer operating in the Channel and North Sea, apparently retained in the area specifically to protect Russian-linked merchant traffic.

Neustrashimy has repeatedly escorted vessels associated with Russia’s shadow fleet since the UK began taking more direct action against sanctions evasion. In July, she escorted tanker MV Vulkan through the Dover Strait and on 20 July conducted a 30-minute live-fire exercise 74km (40nm) south of Plymouth, watched at close range by HMS Tyne. The RN says the need to provide naval escorts is forcing Moscow to divert warships from other duties. Neustrashimy continues to loiter in the southern North Sea, often drifting for short periods to save fuel.

The October operation was supported by the RAF’s Protector RG1, which flew its first operational sorties in UK airspace. The MQ-9B-derived aircraft provided more than ten hours of persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support while working alongside RN ships and helicopters. Based at RAF Waddington, Protector has an endurance of more than 40 hours and, unlike its Reaper predecessor, is certified to operate routinely alongside other aircraft in controlled civilian airspace.

Further north, Merlin Mk2 helicopters deployed at short notice from RNAS Culdrose to Prestwick tracked Russian AGI Viktor Leonov in waters west of Scotland between 29 September and 8 October. The Vishnya-class vessel was operating around the Outer Hebrides while NATO forces were conducting Exercise Strike Warrior, involving more than 2,000 personnel from six nations.

This confirms that Operation Iceblast had real-world surveillance components alongside its previously announced training tasks. Four Merlin Mk2s and around 90 personnel were deployed to Prestwick during the exercise.

HMS Tyne was called into action again between 11 and 14 October, sailing from North Shields to intercept the Ropucha-class landing ship RFN Aleksandr Shabalin. The Russian warship was escorting cargo ship MV Energy-2 and tug Proton towards the Baltic, with a Wildcat from 815 Naval Air Squadron providing additional surveillance.

The tempo of these operations has been rising steadily. RN activity monitoring Russian movements increased by 25% during the first seven months of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025. In the 2025-26 financial year RN vessels were activated 116 times under Operation ADDISON, monitoring 61 Russian warships and 28 merchant vessels around UK waters.

The tougher posture follows the boarding and detention of shadow fleet tanker MV Smyrtos by Royal Marines and National Crime Agency officers in June. Other sanctioned vessels do not necessarily present the same opportunity for boarding, but the operation appears to have increased the cost to Moscow of moving sanctioned cargo through the Channel, including the diversion of scarce warships to provide escorts.

Four months after her seizure, the Smyrtos is still at anchor off Portland with around 100,000 tonnes of crude oil aboard, potentially exposed to winter storms if not moved soon. Leaving the ship to swing at anchor for so long suggests there was no considered plan for disposing of the cargo or dealing with the vessel after its seizure. Although the operation demonstrated Britain’s willingness to take direct action against Russia’s shadow fleet, the unresolved fate of Smyrtos exposes the practical and legal difficulties of enforcing sanctions at sea.