UK Defence Secretary John Healey said the government is treating as “deeply dangerous” an incident in which the Russian ship Yantar directed lasers at RAF pilots monitoring its activities near UK waters. The vessel approached the area north of Scotland in recent weeks, marking its second entry into UK waters this year.
Healey said the UK is maintaining close surveillance of the ship and has military options in place if its course changes.
“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,” he said.
The laser episode is understood to have occurred within the past two weeks while the vessel was being shadowed by a Royal Navy frigate and RAF Poseidon P-8 aircraft. Speaking at Downing Street, Healey said he had adjusted the Royal Navy’s rules of engagement so the service can track the vessel more closely whenever it enters wider UK waters.
He said the Yantar, commissioned in 2015, is operated by Russia’s Main Directorate for Deep Sea Research (GUGI), an organisation built for surveillance in peacetime and sabotage in conflict.
“We have military options ready should the Yantar change course,” he noted, adding that disclosing them “only makes President Putin wiser.”
He emphasised that “anything that impedes, disrupts or puts at risk pilots in charge of British military planes is deeply dangerous.”
The Russian Embassy rejected the UK’s claims, saying Moscow had no interest in British underwater communications and had not acted to undermine UK security. It accused London of following a “Russophobic path” and warned the UK against taking steps that could heighten tensions in Europe.
Labour MP Matt Western, chair of the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy, said the incident demonstrated that Russia remains a “genuine and immediate threat” to UK security. He welcomed the defence secretary’s position but said stronger measures may be required.
Healey had previously issued a warning in January after the Yantar was also observed near UK waters, describing its presence as another sign of growing Russian aggression. According to data from Marine Traffic, the ship has not broadcast its location since 2 November, when it was last recorded in the Baltic Sea north of Latvia. On 6 November, the Dutch Navy escorted the vessel out of the North Sea after it operated near Dutch territorial waters.
The Yantar’s current location is not confirmed. FlightRadar24 shows an RAF Poseidon P-8 flying patterns off the Scottish coast, though it is unclear whether the aircraft is tracking the vessel. Russia maintains that the Yantar is an ocean research platform operated by the country’s Ministry of Defence, while Western governments have monitored it for years amid concerns over undersea cable mapping.
Security expert Elisabeth Braw of the Atlantic Council said the laser use represented “an escalation,” noting that even non-blinding beams can interfere with pilot operations.
Healey broadened his remarks to warn of wider security pressures—from Russian incursions into NATO airspace to rising global instability. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defence faced criticism from MPs who argued the UK relies too heavily on US defence capabilities. The committee urged the UK and its European partners to strengthen their own capacity in case US support diminishes in the future.
Healey said the government’s view of America’s NATO commitment differs from the committee’s assessment. He agreed that Britain must accelerate its own defence efforts and said the current administration has been doing so since taking office last year.
