UK MOD CrownThe UK and Norway have signed a defense pact that will allow them to operate a combined fleet to hunt Russian submarines in the North Atlantic.
The agreement is designed to protect undersea cables, which British officials say are increasingly threatened by Moscow, with a 30% increase in the number of Russian vessels detected in UK waters in the last two years, according to the Ministry of Defense (MoD).
Under the agreement, the navies of the two NATO members will operate a fleet of British-made Type 26 frigates.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the deal “historic” and said it strengthens the UK’s ability to protect its critical infrastructure.
The announcement came as Sir Keir welcomed his Norwegian counterpart Jonas Støre to RAF Lossiemouth in northern Scotland on Thursday.
The two leaders must listen to maritime patrol crews who have been tracking Russian vessels, including the spy ship Yantar, which was recently accused of aiming lasers to disrupt RAF pilots.
Russia describes the Yantar, operated by the country’s Defense Ministry, as an ocean research vessel. Western nations have often tracked it in European waters and suspect part of its mission has been to map undersea cables.
Britain relies heavily on its network of undersea cables that carry data. There are also vital oil and gas pipelines connecting Britain to North Sea neighbors such as Norway.
The Lunna House deal, named after the Shetland Islands base used by the Norwegian resistance during the Second World War, is underpinned by a £10bn UK-Norway warships deal signed in September.
Norwegian Defense Minister Tore O Sandvik, who signed the agreement with UK Defense Secretary John Healey, said the two countries “will defend themselves together”.
At least 13 anti-submarine vessels from the United Kingdom and Norway – at least five of them Norwegian – will operate jointly in northern Europe.
The warships will monitor Russian naval movements in the waters between Greenland, Iceland and the United Kingdom, defending seafloor cables and pipelines critical to Britain’s communications, electricity and gas networks.
The agreement also extends to joint war games and the use of UK-made Sting Ray torpedoes. The Royal Marines will also receive training in Norway to fight in sub-zero conditions.
The two countries will also collaborate to develop “motherships” for unmanned mine hunting and underwater warfare systems, and the Royal Navy will adopt advanced Norwegian naval strike missiles, which can destroy enemy ships at ranges of more than 160 kilometers (100 miles).
Healey said: “In this new era of threats and with increasing Russian activity in the North Atlantic, our strength comes from hard power and strong alliances.”
The UK and its NATO allies are increasingly concerned about the risk Moscow poses to undersea cables and pipelines, amid heightened tensions following the invasion of Ukraine.
The Ministry of Defense has also been criticized by a committee of MPs for being overly reliant on US defense resources and being unprepared to defend the UK and its overseas territories from military attack.
Attacks on underwater infrastructure could cause “catastrophic disruption” to the financial and communications systems that Britons rely on, the National Security Strategy Committee warned in a September report.
