UK military to counter ‘Russia threat’ in North Atlantic

The UK military is planning to expand its presence in the North Atlantic in an attempt to curb what the Royal Navy’s commander says is a growing threat from Russia.

First Sea Lord Admiral Philip Jones told Sky News in his first major television interview that the British armed forces were going to form a new Joint Area of Operations (JAO) that will focus on the North Atlantic region.

This will allow the navy and the Royal Air Force (RAF) aircraft to conduct missions in the region on a more regular basis.

"This is a resurgence that has come very quickly,” Jones said, noting that the move was in response to a growing Russian influence in the region.

"It is an intensifying resurgence of capability and scale that we didn't necessarily see coming maybe 10 years ago. We have had to respond to that - it is also very modern, it is very capable,” he said of Russia’s military might.

"The signature of their vessels, their deploy-ability, their capability is very impressive. They've clearly been investing in the research and development to be able to do this," the admiral added.

SS