When the British frigate Battleaxe made the first visit by a British ship to modern Russia some 30 years ago, it discovered the remains of the Soviet Navy in a dilapidated shipyard, most of the ships rusting and unseaworthy. Times have changed, however, and the roles have reversed, with Moscow presenting a powerful fleet.
While the once sea-power Britain – and the West more broadly – has focused on the Russian military in Ukraine, the Kremlin has methodically managed to get the Russian navy back into shape, at an unfathomable pace.
This is what two British experts in naval matters, the former British Naval Attaché in Moscow, Captain David Fields, and the lecturer at the United Kingdom Defense Academy, Robert Avery, find in their research.
In their book, “The Royal and Russian Navies Cooperation, Competition and Confrontation”, (Published by: Manchester University Press) the two experts note that despite the Russian fleet being half the size of Britain’s, suffering from sanctions and severe budget constraints due to the war in Ukraine, Russia’s shipyards have been building new ships non-stop for the past decade.
Since 2011, Russia has taken delivery of 27 submarines, 6 frigates, 9 corvettes, 16 small missile carriers and other logistical support vessels. Many more are under construction and will arrive by the end of this decade, as the Russians say, “quantity has its own quality.”
Russia’s new ships are being equipped with the Tsirkon hypersonic missile and other innovations, such as a nuclear-powered underwater drone.
Russia now has a formidable ability to threaten NATO countries through capabilities tested during the war in Ukraine, such as the Kalibr Land Attack Cruise missile, which has been used extensively against critical Ukrainian infrastructure.
They learned a lot from the British
The two experts emphasize that Russia learned a lot from the times when their navy worked closely with the Royal British Navy!
Before the rift between Russia and the West after 2014, the Royal Navy and the Russian Navy participated in a complex program of military cooperation.
Since 1988, the Royal Navy cooperated first with the Soviet Navy and then with the Navy of the Russian Federation, culminating in a 1998 Memorandum of Understanding on naval cooperation.
Thus, in their book, the experts state that Russia has learned lessons from the UK regarding naval power in promoting its global interests.
“To think of Russia as a relic of its Cold War self is a huge mistake,” says Ian Proud.
The British navy is non-existent
At the same time, however, Proud notes, the Royal Navy has continued to shrink, and every new drive for efficiency makes it smaller.
The increase in defense spending to 2.5% of GDP will be absorbed mainly by the Ministry of Defense’s bloated procurement programs, which are routinely delayed and always over budget, he estimates.
“It will not produce a conveyor belt of shipbuilding that has seen Russia overtake Britain at a rapid pace since the Ukraine crisis began. The Russian Navy had become the main beneficiary of Russia’s state arms program,” he notes.
Proud describes the dire state of the British navy. The famous Carrier Strike Group 25, which is on an eight-month mission in the Indo-Pacific, consists of just 1 aircraft carrier, 1 destroyer, 1 frigate and 1 attack submarine. Four British ships!
“This means that the Royal Navy now has only one destroyer, two frigates (a third frigate is currently in Oman) and one attack submarine to defend the British coast. Nine other ships are in dock and three more are under maintenance,” notes the British diplomat.
Thus, he concludes that while this modest British Carrier Strike Group is moving east, Russia has already been engaged in joint naval exercises with China and Iran, as well as ship visits to Myanmar and other locations.
Britain has virtually no room to check Russia’s increasingly assertive naval posture in Asia, Brown says, and concludes that there are now three global naval powers: the US, China and Russia.
Dialogue must not be interrupted
The book also highlights the importance of dialogue as a key element of deterrence. For example, when Russia invaded Crimea in 2014, almost all direct engagement between the Royal Navy and the Russian Navy was suspended at the initiative of the British government.
Today, however, the UK and Russia do not have active military attaches at their respective embassies in London and Moscow for the first time since 1941!
“Our modern generation of sailors can now see the Russians through binoculars, periscopes and riflescopes. And they have more weapons than we do. Britain has literally watched a modernised Russian navy sail on a distant horizon, while we wag our fingers at Russia from a control tower,” Proud notes with disappointment.
