UK Says Russian Spy Ship Fired Lasers at RAF Pilots in “New Era of Threat”

A Russian intelligence vessel operating near the United Kingdom has sparked a fresh diplomatic clash after Britain’s defence secretary accused it of targeting Royal Air Force (RAF) pilots with lasers.

In a speech in London on Wednesday, Defence Secretary John Healey said the Russian spy ship Yantar had entered the UK’s exclusive economic zone north of Scotland and was “designed for gathering intelligence and mapping Britain’s undersea cables.” Healey confirmed that an RAF Poseidon P-8 aircraft had been deployed to monitor the vessel and that its crew reported being targeted by laser beams.

The Russian Embassy in London fired back, calling Healey’s remarks “provocative” and insisting that the Yantar is merely an “oceanographic research vessel” operating legally in international waters. The embassy denied any effort to target undersea communications or undermine British security.

According to UK media reports, the Yantar has remained just outside Britain’s 12-nautical-mile territorial limit but is currently within the UK’s 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone.

Healey stressed that the incident underscores a broader pattern of increasingly aggressive Russian behavior, pointing to recent drone incursions into NATO airspace and acts of sabotage across Europe.

“This is a new era of threat,” Healey warned, marking the second time this year the UK has publicly called out the Yantar for activities linked to Russia’s secretive deep-sea intelligence unit, GUGI. However, this is the first time Britain has accused Russia of directing lasers at its aircraft.