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Britain and Norway announced new naval patrols aimed at protecting undersea cables from Russia on Thursday, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gare Store held defense talks.
The British government said its combined fleet of at least 13 warships would “hunt down Russian submarines and protect critical infrastructure in the North Atlantic.”
Norwegian Defense Minister Tore O. Sandvik, who signed the deal with Britain’s John Healy, said it would allow the two countries to “defend themselves together.”
This follows a £10 billion (€11 billion) deal signed in August for Norway to buy at least five British frigates.
These Norwegian ships and eight British warships will operate together in waters north of NATO.
As part of the deal, which Starmer described as “historic” and was formally signed in London by defense ministers from both countries on Thursday, Britain has agreed to use Norwegian-made missiles in the Royal Navy’s surface fleet.
“In this era of new threats and increased Russian activity in the North Atlantic, our strength comes from hard power and strong alliances,” said British Defense Secretary John Healy.
Mr Starmer and Mr Store were scheduled to meet at the Prime Minister’s Office at 10 Downing Street before visiting British and Norwegian officials at Royal Air Force Base Lossiemouth in Scotland, where they would meet with aircrews tracking the Russian vessels.
Britain has announced that Russian naval activity in British waters has increased by 30% over the past two years.
A senior NATO expert on cyber and hybrid threats said late last year that persistent attacks on undersea cables across Europe were the “most active threat” to Western infrastructure.
James Apasulai, Deputy Under-Secretary-General for Innovation, Hybrid and Cyber, said the Alliance’s recent attacks on Russian communications cables are part of a significant increase in cyber, hybrid and other interference in Europe.
In early November, two power lines were severed in the Baltic Sea between Sweden and Lithuania, and another between Germany and Finland, putting member states and NATO on immediate alert, fearing sabotage.
“The Russians are carrying out a plan that they have been brewing for decades. It is called the Russian Undersea Research Program, which is a euphemism for a very well-funded militia that is planning all the cables and energy pipelines in our country,” Apasurai told Euronews.
“There’s what’s called a research vessel. Underneath it’s a small submarine. There’s an unmanned, remote-controlled vehicle with divers and explosives on board.”
Additional sources of information • AP