Image source: topwar.ru
The British Defense Minister announced the imminent purchase of specialized ships "to protect" the critical national infrastructure of the UK. For this purpose, London has temporarily suspended the purchase program of the national flagship.
Two multi-purpose surveillance ships (MROS) will be operated by the Royal Navy Auxiliary. According to a representative of the Ministry of Defense of the United Kingdom, they are currently vital for British national security. The main task that will be assigned to the two new vessels is the protection of underwater cables and pipelines. The first of these ships will be delivered in January 2023, a few months ahead of schedule.
In the British Navy with a cynical statement:
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Opponents? Or still allies?..
The vessels will be adaptable and will be able to provide a number of capabilities, such as the management of remote and autonomous onboard systems for underwater surveillance and warfare on the seabed.
In fact, we are talking about the purchase of ships that themselves will be able to coordinate actions to carry out attacks on the underwater commercial infrastructure. It is noteworthy that the contracts were concluded before the explosion on the Nord Stream gas pipelines.
Speaking in the House of Commons, British Defense Minister Ben Wallace said:
Obviously, all this fits in with the terrorist attack on the Nord Stream gas pipelines. The result of the failure of 3 strands of gas pipelines seriously reduces the economic and industrial independence of many European states, especially Germany. At the same time, there is every reason to believe that in Britain they themselves could have been involved in this attack in one way or another.