Britain urged to shift defence line east in naval strategy update
The think tank Council on Geostrategy claims that British plans to prevent Russian ships from entering the Atlantic need revision. British experts suggest that efforts to combat Russian vessels should commence much further east, in the Bear Gap area.
The Bear Gap is a stretch of water between Svalbard and the northern coast of the Scandinavian Peninsula. It is named after Bear Island, which is located in its centre.
This area lies significantly further east than the GIUK gap, which extends from Greenland through Iceland to the United Kingdom, where, during the Cold War, Russian ships were to be halted from entering the Atlantic.
The Council on Geostrategy argues that Cold War strategies primarily served to defend the United States and secure navigation in the Atlantic. Consequently, the United Kingdom should move the line of defence against the Russian fleet much further east.
The United Kingdom out of range of missiles
This strategy would place the British Isles beyond the reach of certain Russian cruise missiles, which are equipped on ships of the Northern Fleet during conflicts. The Council on Geostrategy's analysis highlights that the size of the British navy is much smaller than during the Cold War.
An example is the reduction in frigates: instead of 30, as in 1990, the United Kingdom now possesses only eight vessels of this class and merely nine P-8 Poseidon maritime aircraft, designed for detecting and combating submarines.
Where to combat Russian submarines?
The think tank contends this is another reason to move the defence line significantly eastward, where fewer ships would need to defend a shorter gap than GIUK.
Simultaneously, the proposed defence line against the Russian fleet is very close to the area where the Russians—dominant in the Arctic—deploy their nuclear-armed submarines on patrol. These submarines are protected by the Russian fleet and ground-based anti-ship systems, such as Bastion.
