HMS Dragon Watches Over Russian Spy Ship

Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer HMS Dragon tracked Russian intelligence gathering ship Yuri Ivanov in U.K. waters during NATO exercise Formidable Shield 2025.

As per a recent RN press release, the destroyer stayed at close range and also monitored the Russian vessel using her Merlin helicopter until the Yuri Ivanov headed home, making for Arctic waters.

The Russian intelligence-gathering ship Yuri Ivanov had been loitering off the Outer Hebrides following the completion of Formidable Shield.

Eleven Allied nations took part in Exercise Formidable Shield 2025, the largest naval live-fire manoeuvres in the European theatre this year, which ran from May 3-25 in the North Sea, Norwegian Sea and North Atlantic Ocean.

As well as land-based elements of the exercise staged on the island of Andoya, Norway, there was a live-fire exercise near the Hebrides islands off the coast of Scotland. These drills were conducted against unmanned air and surface systems, subsonic, supersonic, and ballistic targets.

This year’s iteration of the biennial exercise involved more than 16 ships and 27 aircraft from participating NATO members Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, the U.K. and the U.S.

Separately, HMS Ledbury, HMS Hurworth and 814 Naval Air Squadron had previously been tasked with tracking RFN Stoikiy as the Russian warship sailed west through the Channel to meet two merchant vessels, Sparta IV and General Skobelev, which were returning from the Mediterranean.

The corvette then escorted the two cargo ships eastbound, with HMS Hurworth shadowing the Russian vessels as they headed for the Baltic.

• You can read more details on the Royal Navy website