Russian spy ship lurking in UK waters tried to jam Royal Navy frigate’s GPS programs

The Russian spy ship lurking in British waters tried to jam the Royal Navy frigate’s GPS.

Defence Secretary John Healey last week revealed the research vessel Yantar had been spotted lurking north of Scotland and attempted to blind RAF pilots using military-grade lasers.

The lasers were directed at the pilots of RAF P-8 Poseidons, long-range reconnaissance aircraft that were sent with HMS Somerset to track the Yantar. 

Healey said it constituted a ‘deeply dangerous’ provocation and the first time a Russian crew had used lasers against UK forces.

It has now been revealed they also attempted to disrupt the GPS on HMS Somerset.

The Russian spy ship used jamming technology to interfere with the global position systems of the Royal Navy vessel, a defence source told the Telegraph.

Warships run using a mixture of civilian and military-grade GPS systems, which help with accurate navigation as well as the deployment of precision-guided weapons.

It is understood only civilian-grade systems were impacted, as the military systems are encrypted and almost impossible to jam.

The source said it was ‘more low-level disruption, causing a nuisance’.

An infrared photograph of Russian spy ship Yantar taken following its recent arrival to the edge of British waters. It is thought to be capable of mapping underwater cables

Defence Secretary John Healey said a Russian spy ship had been spotted on the edge of UK waters

However, commercial vessels near the Yantar, including fishermen, are also believed to have had their systems disrupted.

The boat, operated by Russia’s elusive deep-sea research unit GUGI, has been situated on the edge of the UK’s waters for ‘the last few weeks’, Mr Healey said. 

It is suspected by the West to map vital undersea infrastructure such as internet cables.

A Royal Navy frigate and RAF P-8 reconnaissance planes were deployed to monitor and track the Yantar’s moves, and to capture infrared photographs.

The Russians responded by directing lasers at pilots – an unprecedented escalation that the Defence Secretary was taking ‘extremely seriously’.

‘That Russian action is deeply dangerous, and this is the second time this year that this ship, the Yantar has deployed to UK waters,’ Mr Healey said.

He has changed the Navy’s rules of engagement to allow them to track the Yantar more closely.

‘We have military options ready should the Yantar change course,’ he added, though he would not go into detail, citing security reasons.

He did confirm, however, that a Royal Navy submarine was surfaced close to the ship the last time it was seen in British waters.

Mr Healey concluded: ‘My message to Russia and to Putin is this: we see you, we know what you’re doing, and if the Yantar travels south this week, we are ready.’

This is the second time this year the Yantar has been sighted in waters close to Britain.

Last November, the ship was sent packing after ‘loitering over UK critical undersea infrastructure’ off the coast of Cornwall, having been chased out of the Irish Sea – and it was then seen again in January.

Actions to intercept and monitor the boat once more were a ‘demonstration of a British readiness to act, a British capability to act’, Mr Healey said.

He said of the boat: ‘It isn’t just a naval operation – it’s part of a Russian programme… that is designed to have capabilities which can undertake surveillance in peacetime and sabotage in conflict.

‘Make no mistake: we will not tolerate a threat to the British people’s essential connections underwater.’

The Yantar (pictured, front of image, followed by a Royal Navy vessel) is a Russian spy ship operated by the elusive GUGI unit

Downing Street has not said what representations the Government has made to Russia following the appearance of the Yantar off British waters. 

A spokesman for the Prime Minister said: ‘Our position on Russian interference is clear… (but) I’m not going to get into conversations on the diplomatic level.’

The Yantar is thought to be capable of launching submersibles capable of cutting undersea cables – which could cripple the UK’s telecoms infrastructure. Moscow claims it is an ‘oceanographic research vessel’.

It also passed through the English channel in 2018, and has been seen near Brazil and in the Mediterranean in areas where underwater infrastructure lies.

Some 99 per cent of all internet traffic is passed through undersea cables, making them particularly vulnerable if attacked – and a potent target for Putin should he wish to cripple Western nations.