The UK and Norway’s navies will join forces to operate a combined fleet of warships to hunt Russian submarines in the North Atlantic.

This follows a new defence pact between the two countries to protect critical undersea cables that are under increasing threat from Moscow, amid heightened tensions following the invasion of Ukraine.

If undersea infrastructure is attacked, it could cause ‘catastrophic disruption’ to the financial and communications systems the British public relies on, the National Security Strategy Committee warned in a September report.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said there has been a 30% rise in Russian vessels sighted in UK waters in the past two years.

The so-called Lunna House agreement is underpinned by a £10 billion UK-Norway warship deal signed in September a

See Full Page