Royal Navy lacks resources to counter Russian threat in high north, MPs warn

Britain risks failing to deter future Russian aggression in the high north due to significant shortfalls in the number and availability of Royal Navy submarines and warships, according to MPs on the defence select committee. They emphasized the need for dramatic progress by the end of the decade.

The committee's concerns were highlighted by the slow deployment of HMS Dragon to Cyprus this spring, the declining numbers of frigates, and reports indicating that all five Astute-class attack submarines were in dock during the summer.

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“The UK needs to be willing to address a hard truth: it does not currently have all the capabilities to operate successfully in the high north,” said Tan Dhesi, the committee chair.

The MPs pointed out that publicly available evidence of low availability among destroyers, frigates, and attack submarines raises doubts about the UK's ability to meet its commitments.

The high north, which includes the seas beyond Scotland, has gained strategic significance due to increasing Russian interest in energy pipelines and undersea cables, especially as Arctic seaways open up due to global heating.

In recent months, the navy shadowed a Russian spy ship, the Yantar, operating within the UK’s economic waters, accusing its crew of attempting to map strategic cables and shining lasers at RAF pilots monitoring the situation. Russia aims to assert control over the emerging northern sea route, a 3,500-mile (5,600 km) shipping lane along its Arctic coast, which was navigable for four and a half months last year.