# UK Royal Navy surveillance of Russian naval activity > Live situation record from CLSTR: https://clstr.news/situations/uk-royal-navy-surveillance-of-russian-naval-activity > Updated: 2026-08-10T17:53:53.000Z. Sources: 34. Developments: 3. The Royal Navy has increased maritime surveillance in the North Atlantic and UK waters to monitor Russian naval activity. Reports indicate a 25% rise in operations during the first seven months of 2026 compared to the previous year. During July, British warships and aircraft, including HMS Somerset, HMS Tyne, HMS Mersey, and HMS Severn, conducted 21 days of continuous patrols. These missions aim to track the Russian “ghost fleet” of tankers used to transport hydrocarbons, which the UK identifies as a security threat to Europe and a means to finance the invasion of Ukraine. One notable encounter involved the HMS Tyne monitoring the Russian frigate RFN Neustrashimy, which conducted artillery discharges near British and French territorial waters while escorting tankers. Parallel to these maritime operations, security concerns were raised regarding K3 Scout uncrewed surface vessels supplied by Kraken Technology Group. Investigations revealed that third-party camera modules on these 27-foot-long vessels contained Chinese-manufactured hardware that transmitted automated “heartbeat communications” to an IP address in China. These signals were intended to confirm the devices were online and functioning normally. The UK Ministry of Defence has ordered an immediate blackout of all external network connections to the affected camera modules across the entire fleet. While the discovery occurred as the drones were being prepared for missions to secure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, the MoD maintains there is “no evidence” that sensitive data or military systems were compromised, though the incident has renewed concerns regarding asymmetric supply chain risks. ## Claims - The Ministry of Defence stated no evidence was found that sensitive data was compromised after discovering drones were sending data to China (corroborated by 21 sources) - K3 Scout surveillance drone cameras were found to be transmitting heartbeat communications to China (corroborated by 13 sources) - Kraken Technology Group drones used cameras containing Chinese-made components sourced from a third party (corroborated by 12 sources) - The Ministry of Defence disconnected the affected K3 Scout drones from the internet after discovering the vulnerability (corroborated by 11 sources) - The Ministry of Defence reported Royal Navy operations monitoring Russian activity rose by 25% in the first seven months (corroborated by 7 sources) - Royal Navy warships and helicopters spent 21 days in July conducting surveillance near Russian vessels (corroborated by 7 sources) - The UK has sanctioned over 500 vessels to disrupt Russia's shadow fleet (corroborated by 7 sources) - The Russian frigate RFN Neustrashimy transited the UK area of responsibility to escort shadow fleet vessels (corroborated by 7 sources) - HMS Tyne monitored the Neustrashimy during gunnery exercises on July 20 (corroborated by 5 sources) - The Ministry of Defence discovered the vulnerability during a routine cyber vulnerability assessment (corroborated by 4 sources) ## Timeline ### 2026-08-10: Royal Navy drones found transmitting data to China The UK Ministry of Defence discovered that camera modules on Royal Navy K3 Scout surveillance drones were transmitting data to an IP address in China, prompting an immediate network blackout. 4 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/royal-navy-drones-found-transmitting-data-to-china-1 ### 2026-08-09: United Kingdom increases naval surveillance of Russian ghost fleet The UK Royal Navy has increased patrols by 25% in the North Atlantic to monitor Russia’s “ghost fleet” used to fund the invasion of Ukraine. 2 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/united-kingdom-increases-naval-surveillance-of-russian-ghost-fleet ### 2026-08-08: Royal Navy drones found transmitting data to China The UK Ministry of Defence discovered that Royal Navy K3 Scout drones were transmitting automated heartbeat signals to China via Chinese-made camera components. No sensitive data compromise was found. 28 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/royal-navy-increases-monitoring-of-russian-activity-in-uk-waters --- Cite as: UK Royal Navy surveillance of Russian naval activity. CLSTR, https://clstr.news/situations/uk-royal-navy-surveillance-of-russian-naval-activity