He warned that, despite the war in Ukraine, Russia continues to invest heavily in its Northern Fleet and sub-surface capabilities. “Despite Russia’s egregious war against Ukraine, where millions have been killed or injured for modest gains in territory, Russia has continued to pump huge resources into its Northern Fleet and increasingly capable sub-surface capabilities,” he said.
“Right now, we are being tested in the Atlantic – our own back yard. These are unstable and dangerous times. Our job is to protect our island nation. We are the first and last line of defence for the United Kingdom,” General Jenkins added.
In response, the Royal Navy is to take the lead in uniting Northern European navies against what he described as Russia’s growing threat in the Arctic and Atlantic. The United Kingdom will convene Northern European Navy Chiefs in London in April for a summit focused on strengthening joint efforts to address shared challenges.
The summit will examine coordination against hybrid threats, including Russian shadow fleet shipping and probes targeting critical national infrastructure on the seabed. “I am bringing together the Northern European Navies to develop our combined approach to the growing threat in the North,” General Jenkins said.
“The United Kingdom is taking the lead because this threat demands a unified response, and our geography, capability and historic role in these waters mean we must be at the forefront. Only through strength, delivered by operating and developing even more closely together, will we face down the threats we now face,” he stated.
General Jenkins emphasised that protecting the northern approaches to the Atlantic is vital for the security of both the United Kingdom and NATO. “Our new Atlantic Fleet strategy provides the basis: Atlantic Bastion to protect our sensitive waters; Atlantic Shield to defend against attacks from the sky in the vulnerable North; and Atlantic Strike to hold our adversaries’ most sensitive areas at risk and to assure of interests in the Arctic,” he said.
“Because if we lose the Norwegian coast, we cannot keep the Atlantic open,” he added. The meeting of Navy Chiefs will build on the UK’s close defence relationship with Norway, including a recent shipbuilding agreement, and is intended to strengthen allied coordination in response to Russian activity.
The First Sea Lord also reiterated the Royal Navy’s commitment to developing a hybrid fleet that combines crewed vessels with autonomous and uncrewed systems. “Uncrewed warfare is here. Artificial intelligence is here. And if we are not practising at the scale and pace that we would expect to see in conflict, then we are failing now,” he said.
“The pace of technological change will never again be as slow as it is today. Technologies are combining. They are proliferating. The environment we operate in is transforming faster than at any point in our naval history,” he continued.
“In order to meet this challenge, we must work together with our key allies. I outlined at the Paris Naval Conference the importance of working with our key allies in adapting to this evolving technological world and adopting new approaches across our allied nations to meet the threats before us,” he said.
General Jenkins made clear that resource constraints cannot serve as an excuse and that the Navy must be prepared to operate with existing assets. “And this is where I must be absolutely clear: we fight with what we’ve got,” he said.
“This is not a slogan. It is a statement of intent. It is the hard yards of leadership excellence that will determine whether we succeed or fail,” he concluded. Over two days, conference delegates also heard from senior naval leaders and academic experts on evolving threats, emerging plans and the steps required to ensure the Royal Navy is warfighting ready.
Source: Royal Navy.
