Battle stations! Navy scrambles destroyer to challenge Russian warship off British coast

The Dailt Mail, UK ^ | 5 January 2014 | Mark Nicol

[protest1]

Battle stations! Navy scrambles destroyer to challenge Russian warship off British coast (but it takes 24 hours to make 600-mile journey from Portsmouth base - was Putin testing our response time?)

[protest1]

They have been keeping this VERY quiet as it occurred on 20th December. I guess the traitors in the UK government won't want the fact that we had ONE destroyer 600 miles and 24 hours away to be commonly known. Also the new Type 45 destroyer does not actually have any anti-ship missiles and is woefully underarmed. Apparently they might upgrade it's armaments at some point.

[yarddog]

What happened to Scapa Flow? Is it no longer a base?

[freedumb2003]

Very strange.

The RAF is more than capable of taking out a ship of any size without even breaking a sweat.

I think that is why the new destroyers don’t have ship-to-ship missiles — they are pretty useless in 99% of all battle situations which will always involve fighters.

[BCW]

uhm...the British were just buggered! Must be hard to accept that they were once a great naval fleet - but now they are becoming the back water to Islamic radicals and liberal takeover....the decline of the monarchy...but then - so sadly - so are we in the US running the same track they are....

[ken5050]

From "The more things change...." department:

On Oct 14, 1939, Guenther Prien and the U-47 penetrated the Royal Navy's primary base at Scapa Flow, and sank the battleship "Royal Oak."

[mongo141]

Looks to me like that Russian vessel is a RADAR techs nightmare.

[Paladin2]

It’s best to be able to Nuke them from Space, in minutes.

[Nifster]

It was a Royal Navy ship NOT a US ship…. breath will ya

[1rudeboy]

...was Putin testing our response time?

[skinkinthegrass]

from the article:
Last night, Russian expert Jonathan Eyal, from the military think-tank the Royal United Services Institute, said Russia had intended to intimidate Britain. The 600-mile voyage.

He added: ‘The Russian fleet, which is growing in strength and expanding its sphere of influence, wanted to show a presence in the North Sea and sail as close as possible to the national sea boundary.

‘The Russians knew exactly what they were doing. They were saying,
“We are back in business in the North Sea and we are powerful.”

well..they certainly did that, let see IF pResident 0'Butt*uck does the same...
thing..of course; he'd denied it...to the cheers of his fellow traverlers

[Sawdring]

Hi is from Britain.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Maybe reopen Holy Loch ?

[Lower Deck]

What happened to Scapa Flow? Is it no longer a base?

Scapa Flow has always been used in time of war only and was never a permanent base for the RN. It hasn't been in use since the early 1950's.

[Lower Deck]

Maybe reopen Holy Loch ?

Holy Loch was a U.S. base. on the west coast. The RN has a base at Faslane but only has SSNs and SSBNs stationed there.

[grumpygresh]

The Federal government spies on us, over-taxes us, and targets us for speaking out against them. DHS considers Christians, conservatives and libertarians to be enemies, so exactly which side should I root for?

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

I suspect the reason Putin did this was to light a fire under the Brits, if not the EU, that their abrogation of military might leaves them wide open.

His purpose is to convince the assembled that they need a military, because if they build one, it will counterbalance the current big advantage, even if just a little, of the US.

It is a subtle thing, but a smart one, from his point of view. Lots of scenarios agree with him.

[moovova]

Where’s the Spanish Armada when you need’em?

[az_gila]

The Harpoon anti-ship missile upgrade is scheduled for 4 of the 6 Type-45 destroyers using equipment taken from de-commissioned ships -

http://www.thinkdefence.co.uk/2013/08/type-45-and-harpoon/

I guess they didn’t want to throw away the quad launchers...:^)

[central_va]

I predict the next major naval war will be fought visually at close ranges because using radar and active sonar is committing suicide. Violating EMCON(EMISSION CONTROL) is like asking to be sunk.

[Red Steel]

Closed 1956.