UK Navy Monitors Russian Naval Transit via English Channel
The UK Royal Navy monitored Russian naval vessels passing through the English Channel toward the North Sea, deploying patrol ships and a Wildcat helicopter.
The UK Royal Navy reported that it monitored the transit of Russian naval vessels through the English Channel toward the North Sea. According to the British naval news outlet Navy Lookout, the operation involved two patrol ships and a Wildcat maritime helicopter.
As detailed by the publication, the patrol vessels HMS Mersey and HMS Severn, supported by a Wildcat helicopter from the 815 Naval Air Squadron, shadowed the Russian Navy’s Steregushchiy-class corvette Boykiy along with the tanker General Skobelev as they entered the Channel and continued their passage northward.
The monitoring operation unfolded in stages. HMS Mersey initially tracked the Russian ships from the moment they appeared in British waters, maintaining surveillance until they approached the Isle of Wight. Responsibility was then handed over to HMS Severn, which continued the observation as the vessels proceeded through the strait.
Once the Russian ships exited the Channel and entered the North Sea, oversight of their movement was transferred to the naval forces of the Netherlands, Navy Lookout reported.