The post you are reporting:
Courtesy of the Sunday Times.
A British attack submarine has been locked in a “cat-and-mouse” pursuit by Russian submarines and warships, military sources revealed. While Theresa May was deciding last week whether to launch strikes against Syria, a drama began beneath the surface of the eastern Mediterranean. A Royal Navy submarine armed with cruise missiles is believed to have been hunted by at least one, and possibly two, Russian submarines dubbed “the Black Hole” by western naval experts because they are so quiet.
Two Russian frigates and an anti-submarine aircraft are also thought to have been searching for the British boat as it manoeuvred to put its Tomahawk cruise missiles within range of Syrian military targets. The Astute-class submarine is believed to have spent several days trying to evade detection in a tense and dangerous contest. Russian and British submarines have increasingly stalked each other in the north Atlantic, North Sea and Mediterranean in recent years as tensions have grown. This is believed to be the first time an underwater duel has taken place in the build-up to strikes. The British submarine has been protected by the US navy, which began flying P-8 maritime patrol aircraft over the eastern Mediterranean last Wednesday to track Russia’s ships and subs. The P-8 has sensors to find vessels and can deploy missiles, torpedoes and mines. Kilo-class Russian hunter-killers, stationed at Russia’s naval base at Tartus in Syria, are believed to have led the hunt. They are powered by two diesel generators and an electric drive, which allows them to operate extremely quietly, and can be armed with torpedoes, cruise and anti-ship missiles.
“The two Kilos would be a considerable threat,” Iain Ballantyne, author of The Deadly Trade, a book on submarine warfare, said. Britain’s submarine has limited firepower. It is likely to have been carrying no more than 20 Tomahawk cruise missiles, which it can fire 1,000 miles while submerged. Some American submarines can carry 154 Tomahawk missiles. Nick Childs, a senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said the Ministry of Defence was likely to have a stockpile of fewer than 100 Tomahawks.
