The Royal Navy has once again been called into action as Russian warships pressed into the English Channel, underlining what senior defence officials now describe as a dramatic and sustained rise in Russian naval incursions around the British Isles.

HMS Severn, one of the Navy’s tirelessly deployed Offshore Patrol Vessels, shadowed the Russian corvette Stoikiy and the tanker Yelnya through one of the world’s busiest and most strategically sensitive waterways — an operation carried out with a calm professionalism that masks the growing strategic unease behind it.

What might once have been dismissed as an occasional show of Russian flag-waving has become something far more persistent. According to Ministry of Defence officials, Russian naval activity in and around UK waters has risen by around 30 per cent in just two years, a shift that has forced the Royal Navy to maintain an almost permanent state of readiness in the Channel, the North Sea, and the approaches to the Atlantic.

Where Britain once faced sporadic encounters — a submarine here, an intelligence-gathering vessel there — commanders now speak of a tempo that has “fundamentally changed.” It is not merely the frequency but the nature of these approaches that is causing alarm: vessels operating without AIS transponders, ships hugging the limits of territorial waters, and repeated appearances by Russian intelligence platforms known to conduct seabed surveillance.

A Routine Patrol That Speaks Volumes

HMS Severn’s latest interception is emblematic of this new reality. The ship was rapidly dispatched once the Russian vessels entered the Channel, shadowing them from the Dover Strait and across one of the most congested maritime chokepoints in Europe. What made this mission notable was not any specific provocation on Moscow’s part, but the broader pattern it represents — a deliberate campaign of pressure, designed to test Western reactions and remind Britain of Russia’s enduring military reach.

Once Severn completed its close escort, the operation was handed off to a NATO ally, part of an increasingly well-practised choreography that ensures no Russian vessel travels unobserved from the North Sea to the Atlantic.

‘We See You’: Britain Sends a Firm Warning

Defence Secretary John Healey did not mince words when addressing the surge in incursions. “We see you. We know what you’re doing,” he warned, adding that Britain’s forces were “ready at all hours” to respond to Russian naval manoeuvres. His comments came after multiple intelligence incidents involving Russian ships, including a notorious episode in which a Russian spy vessel fired military-grade lasers at RAF P-8 Poseidon pilots during a patrol off Scotland — behaviour the MoD labelled “dangerous, provocative and reckless.”

Meanwhile, the MoD has confirmed several episodes of GPS jamming in recent months, affecting Royal Navy ships operating in the North Sea and around the Shetland baselines. Though Moscow denies involvement, British officials are in no doubt that these disruptions are part of an increasingly assertive Russian approach.

NATO Strengthens the Shield

The UK has responded with more than rhetoric. In coordination with NATO, Britain has deployed three RAF Poseidon P-8 surveillance aircraft to Iceland — a move designed to tighten control over the Greenland-Iceland-UK (GIUK) gap, a corridor historically crucial for monitoring Russian submarine movements. The deployment is not symbolic; it reflects a hard truth recognised in London and Brussels alike: the North Atlantic is becoming contested again.

The Royal Navy has also expanded its patrol patterns in the Channel, the North Sea and around critical seabed infrastructure, including undersea cables and energy pipelines. Naval planners note that these fibres and pipelines are potential targets for sabotage — and that Russia retains both the capability and, increasingly, the habit of conducting “mapping” operations near them.

HMS Severn: A Workhorse in a New Era

Commander Grant Dalgleish has praised his crew for handling a demanding tempo with composure and discipline. HMS Severn, which only recently returned from maintenance, has already taken part in multiple shadowing missions. Its operational rhythm reflects a broader trend: UK patrol ships are seeing more days at sea now than at any point since the end of the Cold War.

Far from being mere maritime escorts, these vessels are frontline instruments of British state power. In an era where quiet probes and grey-zone manoeuvres are favoured over outright confrontation, the Royal Navy’s presence — persistent, visible and firm — serves as both deterrent and reassurance.

Experts warn that the surge in Russian incursions is unlikely to fade. Moscow, they argue, is intent on keeping up pressure on NATO’s maritime borders, probing for weaknesses and seeking opportunities to learn how the Alliance responds under stress.

This is why the UK’s approach is shifting from reactive to proactive. New investments in undersea surveillance, anti-submarine capabilities, and joint NATO maritime task groups mark the beginning of a longer-term rebalancing of Britain’s defence priorities.

What once seemed routine — a Russian ship sighted in the Channel — now carries strategic weight. Every incursion is logged, tracked, analysed. Every response is calibrated not only to the vessels in question, but to the message London intends to send back: that British waters will not be allowed to become a theatre for foreign intimidation.

The latest interception is more than a footnote in naval dispatches; it is a reminder of the strategic realities Britain must now confront. Russia’s behaviour is intensifying, not diminishing. The seas around the UK, once taken for granted as secure, are becoming a frontline again.

Yet the Royal Navy, with its blend of tradition, professionalism and modern capability, appears more than equal to the task. The message from Whitehall is clear: Britain is watching — and Britain is ready.

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