Commodore Andrew Betton, commander of the UK Carrier Strike Group, said that Royal Navy warships in the task group must try to protect the £3 billion Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier against Russian submarines during the upcoming sea trials in the Atlantic Ocean.
Russian submarines are more active in the North Atlantic than they have been since the Cold War and we take that very seriously, the ship will be well protected as she makes her transit across the Atlantic,”
The 71,650-ton Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier is the biggest warship ever to be built in Britain, and has been undergoing sea trials since setting sail from Scotland’s Rosyth dockyard in June 2017.
Betton and Captain Jerry Kyd, the carrier’s commanding officer, said that “the increase in Russian electronic warfare activity in the last couple of years is frightening and for national security reasons it just underlines why we need to maintain a balanced, strong and able, capable fleet.”
Betton stressed that the Navy is “not seeking confrontation” and that the so by Russia called “big convenient marine target,” is heading to the USA solely for “trials,”speaking as though the carrier group was actually afraid to sail the Atlantic Ocean.
The two commanders’ remarks came as the Queen Elizabeth prepares to leave Portsmouth Naval Base to cross the Atlantic for its mission, to conduct flight trials and arrive at New York.
The Russian embassy in London has stated that the remarks are in line with “common propaganda” replicating all sorts of false information in the context of the anti-Russian campaign being promoted here, while NATO troops gathered @ Russia’s doorstep and not the other way around.
In late May, UK Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson accused Moscow of aggressive moves, using the alleged “Russian threat” pretext as an argument to urge the UK government to increase funding for the recommended Royal Navy’s modernization and support NATO in its campaign to isolate Russia from the rest of the world.
Williamson, who is known for his anti-Russian statements, underlined the need to modernize the UK’s air forces, explaining it by the need to counter threats coming from Russia’s unmatched super weapons and electronics technology.
Sputnik / ABC Flash Point Military News 2018.
Protect?
What a joke?
Imagine ………..that