Russian frigate Neustrashimy conducts live-fire exercise 40 nm off Portsmouth, UK

The Russian frigate Neustrashimy has conducted a live-fire gunnery exercise off the south coast of England while under observation by the Royal Navy, according to the BBC. The warship was approximately 40 nautical miles from Portsmouth when she informed the shadowing patrol vessel HMS Tyne of her intention to open fire.

Royal Navy Monitoring

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson confirmed that the Royal Navy was observing the frigate on Monday, as reported by the BBC's Jonathan Beale. The Russians recommended that the British vessel move to a safer distance before the exercise, which lasted approximately 30 minutes. A French aircraft also made radio contact with the frigate to clarify her intended activities.

Warships are entitled to conduct such exercises in international waters, and the notification to nearby shipping and shadowing units follows normal practice.

Recent Movements

The Neustrashimy is a recent arrival in the area. According to earlier reporting by Sky News, she was seen east of Clacton-on-Sea, near Felixstowe, on 17 July, where she appeared to be taking on fuel and stores from a Russian supply ship.

Her appearance followed the departure of the frigate Admiral Grigorovich, which was observed returning towards Kaliningrad on 16 July after a lengthy deployment around the Channel. During that deployment, she at times appeared to drift—possibly to conserve fuel—and fired warning shots at a private boat judged to have approached too closely.

Russian warships have maintained a near-continuous presence around the Channel for months, escorting tankers and other strategic vessels. The Royal Navy reported last month that it had kept an unbroken watch on Russian frigates and their consorts in UK waters for nearly three months.

The Neustrashimy: A Troubled History

The Neustrashimy is the lead ship of Project 11540, a class designed in the twilight of the Soviet Union as a successor to the mass-produced Krivak-class patrol ships. Key details include:

• Laid down: 1987 at the Yantar shipyard in Kaliningrad
• Launched: 1988
• Commissioned: 1993 into the Baltic Fleet
• Class: One of only two completed after the Soviet collapse gutted the programme; sister ship Yaroslav Mudry was finished years late, and the third hull was scrapped incomplete on the slipway
• Displacement: Approximately 4,400 tonnes full load
• Length: 129 metres
• Armament: 100mm gun, Kinzhal surface-to-air missiles, Kortik close-in weapon systems, torpedo tubes, anti-submarine rockets, and a hangar for a Ka-27 helicopter
• Primary role: Anti-submarine escort

Her service has been punctuated by lengthy absences, including a counter-piracy deployment off the Horn of Africa and a 2014 refit at Yantar that stretched years beyond schedule after a fire aboard in 2015 compounded delays. She returned to Baltic Fleet duty towards the end of the decade, making the three-decade-old frigate one of the older combatants Russia now rotates through its Channel escort tasking.

The Shadowing Vessel: HMS Tyne

Shadowing the Neustrashimy falls to HMS Tyne, the first of the Royal Navy's River-class offshore patrol vessels. Key details include:

• Commissioned: 2003
• Displacement: Approximately 1,700 tonnes
• Home port: Portsmouth
• Armament: 20mm cannon and general-purpose machine guns
• Primary role: Fishery protection and patrol duties

Despite lacking the missiles of larger fleet-mates, the Batch 1 Rivers—Tyne, Severn, and Mersey—have become the Navy's workhorses for monitoring foreign warships through UK waters, operating on constant rotation alongside HMS Trent and other Batch 2 ships when home. Tyne alone has escorted dozens of Russian vessels through the Channel and North Sea over the past decade, from destroyers and frigates to submarines and intelligence-gathering ships. Only last week, her crew hosted supporting staff at sea in recognition of the tempo those patrols demand of a ship's company of approximately 40.

Political Context

The exercise, as first reported by the BBC, fell on the same day as the change of government in London, with Sir Keir Starmer resigning as Prime Minister and Andy Burnham invited by the King to form a new administration.

It also follows a period in which the UK has hardened its approach to the Russian shadow fleet, including the stopping and seizure of a tanker the Government said was stateless. The vessel's captain has been ordered to stand trial later this year over alleged sanctions violations involving Russian oil.