Royal Navy warships and helicopters have shadowed five Russian vessels in UK waters over the first week of July.

Plymouth-based frigate HMS Iron Duke, Portsmouth-based patrol ship HMS Tyne and Wildcat aircraft from 815 Naval Air Squadron were dispatched on three separate operations in the North Sea and English Channel between 1 and 8 July.

These operations are part of the government’s ongoing commitment to safeguarding the integrity of UK waters and protecting national security through the government’s Plan for Change.

The Royal Navy group worked closely with NATO allies as they kept constant watch on the Russian activity – which saw two Steregushchiy-class corvettes, a tanker, bulk carrier and a Smolnyy-class training ship pass UK waters.

This all took place as allied nations took part in a significant exercise in Portland aimed at helping Ukraine make the Black Sea safe. Royal Navy divers and mine clearance experts have been involved in the exercise – known as Sea Breeze – along with HMS Iron Duke, which has just returned after planned maintenance in Devonport.

The UK remains steadfast in its commitment to NATO, pledging to raise defence spending to 2.6% of GDP from 2027, with the aspiration to further increase it to 3% during the next parliament.

Iron Duke recently returned to front-line duties after a three-month planned maintenance period that also included leave for her sailors after intensive patrols and operations in UK waters, the Baltic Sea and Norway.

Commander David Armstrong, HMS Iron Duke’s Commanding Officer, said: “It is great to be back at sea protecting the UK’s territorial Seas and Critical National Infrastructure.

“This week’s activity neatly highlights both our well-established interoperability with NATO allies and our strategic partnership with Ukraine, via our combined Mine Countermeasures capabilities on display during Exercise Sea Breeze.

“Protecting the sovereignty of the UK and our NATO allies is at the heart of the Royal Navy’s mission, and we take great pride in the operational impact we make in ensuring the security of the UK’s maritime domain.

“Being our 17th activation as Fleet Ready Escort in 12 months, I reflect on the professionalism, resilience and stoic sense of duty on constant display.”

The first activation saw HMS Tyne and HMS Iron Duke track the Smolnyy-class training ship heading west from the North Sea, through the English Channel to the northwest of France before handing over to a NATO ally.

Immediately re-tasked to head back to the North Sea, HMS Tyne reported on the movements of Steregushchiy-class RFN Boikiy with a Russian tanker, General Skobelev, and bulk carrier, MV Sparta.

Iron Duke and a Wildcat tracked Boikiy – last monitored just two weeks ago by HMS Duncan and HMS Mersey – and the accompanying vessels until they reached the island of Ushant at the southwestern end of the Channel on the French coast – again handing over to an allied warship.

A brief logistics stop followed in Portsmouth, before Iron Duke returned to action – this time directed to intercept RFN Soobrazitelny and closely monitor the Steregushchiy-class corvette as she made her way back from the Eastern Mediterranean – through the Channel and into the North Sea en route to a Russian Baltic port.

In this busy period, Iron Duke also took part in Sea Breeze as a dozen allied and partner navies – including Ukrainian Navy minehunters – practised and developed techniques to deal with the latest underwater devices and threats which blight Black Sea waters.