Russian spy ship is spotted ‘on edge of UK waters’ with LASERS aimed at RAF pilots – as defence secretary John Healey warns Putin, ‘we see you, we are ready’

A Russian spy ship designed to ‘gather intelligence’ has been sighted on the edge of British waters – and shone lasers at RAF pilots who flew overhead to surveil it, the Defence Secretary has said.

Hours after a report claimed the UK lacks a plan to defend itself against foreign military attacks, John Healey said the research vessel Yantar had been spotted lurking north of Scotland.

The boat, operated by Russia’s elusive deep-sea research unit GUGI, has been situation on the edge of the UK’s waters for ‘the last few weeks’, Mr Healey said.

A Royal Navy frigate and RAF planes were deployed to monitor and track the Yantar’s moves. The Russians responded by directing lasers at pilots.

‘That Russian action is deeply dangerous, and this is the second time this year that this ship, the Yantar has deployed to UK waters,’ Mr Healey said.

‘So my message to Russia and to Putin is this: we see you, we know what you’re doing, and if the Yantar travels south this week, we are ready.’

This is the second time in a year the Yantar has been sighted in waters close to Britain. Last November, the ship was sent packing after ‘loitering over UK critical undersea infrastructure’ off the coast of Cornwall.

Actions to intercept and monitor the boat again were a ‘demonstration of a British readiness to act, a British capability to act’, Mr Healey said.

He said of the boat: ‘It isn’t just a naval operation – it’s part of a Russian programme… that is designed to have capabilities which can undertake surveillance in peacetime and sabotage in conflict.

‘Make no mistake: we will not tolerate a threat to the British people’s essential connections underwater.’

The Yantar (pictured, top of image, followed by the Royal Navy’s HMS Somerset) is a Russian spy ship operated by the elusive GUGI unit

Defence Secretary John Healey and Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper during a visit to HMS Prince of Wales anchored of the coast of Naples, Italy, on Monday

The Yantar is thought to be capable of launching submersibles capable of cutting undersea cables – which could cripple the UK’s telecoms infrastructure.

Some 99 per cent of all internet traffic is passed through undersea cables, making them particularly vulnerable if attacked.

Last year, a power cable and four fibreoptic cables between Finland and Estonia were damaged by a cargo ship carrying Russian oil – alleged to be part of Putin’s ‘shadow fleet’ of vessels sailing with malicious intent.

Authorities accused the Eagle S of deliberately dragging its anchor to damage the cables. Russia has branded claims of a shadow fleet as a ‘myth’. Helsinki District Court dismissed the case last month due to lack of jurisdiction.

The sighting of the Yantar came as MPs warned that the UK is poorly equipped to defend itself from a military attack – as the government promised to boost readiness with new arms factories.

The Commons Defence Committee issued a stark warning about the UK’s ability to fight a war and meet its Nato obligations in the wake of Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.

‘The UK lacks a plan for defending the homeland and overseas territories,’ the committee’s MPs warned as they called for the public to be given more information about the scale of the threat and the response that is required.

The committee’s chairman, Labour’s Tan Dhesi, said: ‘Putin’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, unrelenting disinformation campaigns, and repeated incursions into European airspace mean that we cannot afford to bury our heads in the sand.’

The Yantar (front) has made two visits to the edge of British territory in the last year – both times in areas where key underwater infrastructure is situated

A ship suspected to fall under Putin’s ‘shadow fleet’ was detained last year after being suspected of using its anchor to damage cables between Finland and Estonia 

He added: ‘We have repeatedly heard concerns about the UK’s ability to defend itself from attack. Government must be willing to grasp the nettle and prioritise homeland defence and resilience.

‘In achieving this, Government cannot shy away from direct engagement with the public.

‘Wars aren’t won just by generals but by the whole of the population getting behind the armed forces and playing our part.

‘There needs to be a coordinated effort to communicate with the public on the level of threat we face and what to expect in the event of conflict.’

Mr Healey confirmed today that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has funded a number of feasibility studies for new energetics factories – producing explosives, pyrotechnics and propellants – to kickstart high-volume production in the UK for the first time in nearly two decades.

Potential sites for the ‘factories of the future’ include Grangemouth in Scotland, Teesside in north-east England and Milford Haven in Wales.

At least 13 sites across the UK have been identified for new factories to make munitions and military explosives. Mr Healey said he expects the arms industry to break ground at the first plant next year. 

He said: ‘For too long our proud industrial heartlands saw jobs go away and not come back. We are changing that. Bringing new hope. This is a fundamental shift from the failed approach of the past.

‘This is a new era of threat but the opportunity of this new era is a defence dividend from our record investment, measured in good jobs, thriving businesses, new skills for the British people.’

John Healey and Yvette Cooper during a visit to HMS Prince of Wales off Naples on Monday

Defence Secretary John Healey arriving for a Cabinet meeting in Downing Street yesterday

In June, the MoD committed £1.5 billion of additional defence investment for energetics and munitions.

The Government is committed to building at least six new munitions and energetics factories before the next election, creating at least 1,000 jobs.

Mr Healey also announced the opening of two new drone factories this week in Plymouth and Swindon. He will visit Plymouth today.

‘We are making defence an engine for growth, unambiguously backing British jobs and British skills as we make the UK better ready to fight and better able to deter future conflicts,’ the Defence Secretary said.

‘This is the path that delivers national and economic security.’

Mr Healey was also expected to say that, at next week’s Budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves will ensure there will be no return to the ‘hollowed out and underfunded’ armed forces of the past.

Ahead of the Defence Secretary’s speech, Sir Keir Starmer travelled to Berlin to discuss defence and security issues over dinner with German chancellor Friedrich Merz and French president Emmanuel Macron.

The dinner came as negotiations over Britain’s participation in a €150billion (£132billion) European defence fund continue, with The Times reporting that the Government was considering walking away from the talks over French demands that the UK pay £5billion to the EU to take part.