He RFS Novorossiysk and the support tug Yakov Grebelsky have surfaced looking for the island of Ouessant, off the north-east coast of France and at the entrance to the English Channel.
As reported by the Italian media the detection of the Russian vessels caused the activation of a joint NATO operation that took place between October 7 and 9.
The mission, which was led by the British frigate HMS Iron Dukewas based on constant monitoring that kept the submarine and the tugboat under surveillance using radar and other electronic means.
Specifically, the NATO tracking operation It started in the Mediterranean Sea. The HMS Cutlass initially intercepted the Russian submarine RFS Novorossiysk while crossing the Strait of Gibraltar.
Tracking the Russian submersible continued in the Bay of Biscay thanks to a French FREMM-class frigate. That vessel was later relieved in surveillance work by the aforementioned frigate HMS Iron Duke.
The British ship was in charge of to listen both the submarine and the support tug through the English Channel to its entrance into the North Sea. There, the monitoring of Russian ships became the responsibility of the navies of the Netherlands and Belgium.
In this joint NATO surveillance operation on the Russian RFS Novorossiysk and Yakov Grebelsky A total of 11 naval units belonging to six member countries have participated. of the Atlantic Alliance.
In this sense, the British Royal Navy has reported that the intervention has taken place within the framework of the enhanced surveillance and deterrence measures adopted by NATO to confront the intensification of Russian naval activity in the Euro-Atlantic maritime space
