A British “hunter-killer” submarine could be on its way to the Middle East after cutting short its mission in Australia, military experts believe.
The nuclear-powered Astute class HMS Anson, equipped with long-range Spearfish torpedoes and Tomahawk cruise missiles, left port in Western Australia earlier this week, fuelling speculation that it could be en route to the Gulf.
It could potentially be deployed to police the hotspot of the Strait of Hormuz, currently blocked by Iranian drones and missiles and which is key to global oil, gas and shipping.
Defence Secretary John Healey has declined to comment on the whereabouts of Anson, as the government never reveals the location of its stealth subs.
And in a separate development, The i Paper understands that the UK could be preparing to boost its military presence in the Middle East even after the US-Iran war comes to an end.
Officials in Whitehall are drawing up contingency plans for different scenarios, depending on whether the Tehran regime, under its new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, is still in place at the end of the war.
These contingency plans include talks about how to “constrain” the Iranian regime if it is not defeated by the US-Israeli military action or by Iranian people, it is understood, as well as the possibility of fresh economic sanctions against Tehran.
HMS Anson arrived in Australia on 22 February for a mission to work closely with that country’s forces on the AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine programme, and had been due to stay there for a month.
But local reports said the sub had quietly left the port and a government spokesperson told The Australian newspaper: “HMS Anson has successfully completed all of its planned maintenance.”
Attack sub can circumnavigate the globe ‘without resurfacing’
The Royal Navy has previously championed the attack submarine as representing “the cutting edge of the United Kingdom’s military capabilities”.
“She is armed with Tomahawk land attack missiles and Spearfish heavyweight torpedoes, befitting her role as an attack submarine,” according to the Navy’s website.
“The nuclear reactor onboard HMS Anson does not need to be refuelled during her 25-year service period, while the ability to purify her own water and air means that her range is limited only by the amount of food onboard. As a result, she is capable of circumnavigating the globe without resurfacing.”
The submarine cut short a mission in Australia, fuelling speculation it is on the way to the Middle East (AFP via Getty Images)Experts said it would take a week to 10 days to reach the Gulf if it were headed there.
Matthew Savill, director of military sciences at RUSI, said: “The UK is unlikely to announce any deployment, as it prefers to keep submarine movements ambiguous, especially on operations.
“But an Astute would be best suited to either intelligence collection or a contribution to cruise missile strikes – albeit in the latter case, at a very small scale compared to the firepower already in the Gulf.
“The most likely threat on the water is small attack craft, perhaps complemented by explosive boats. While a submarine could track them, a surface vessel or helicopters are far better suited to destroying such threats.”
Tobias Ellwood, former Conservative chairman of the Commons defence committee and ex-defence minister, said he was surprised that HMS Anson had not already been deployed to the Gulf.
He added: “Sadly, unlike most other Nato destroyers, ours cannot hit targets on land… So only our subs can hit targets from the sea.
“But here again we have too few working assets. Out of five subs only one is not in maintenance. And it’s 6,000 miles away from the action.
“It’s got some good stuff on board – but the US has this swamped with all their assets.”
Type 45 Destroyer finally sets sail for Mediterranean
Meanwhile the UK’s Type 45 Destroyer vessel, HMS Dragon, finally set sail for the eastern Mediterranean a week after ministers approved its deployment.
The Destroyer will patrol the seas near Cyprus after the RAF base at Akrotiri came under attack from a drone last week.
However insiders believe the eastern Med is now overcrowded with military assets from different allies, its deployment is now regarded by some in the region as academic.
The UK government believes that the war aims and objective of the US are narrowing due to Donald Trump’s comments on Monday that the military action is nearly complete and that strikes are focused on destroying Iran’s ballistic missile capability.
This would be a change from the US president’s stated calls at the start of the war that he wants to see regime change in Tehran.
Given the impact of the conflict on the crucial shipping route of the Strait of Hormuz, this would be seen as a positive step, UK officials believe.
However there is now a renewed effort by Britain and its allies in Europe to do what it can to improve access to commercial ships through the Strait.
Massive military aerial offensive needed to unblock shipping route
UK officials believe that the route will not be accessible to commercial shipping unless the US bombs Iranian forces to free up the choke-point.
This would mean a massive military aerial offensive by the US to destroy Iranian missile and drone silos along the coast.
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Meanwhile, the Labour-led Commons defence committee has rebuked the government over the UK response to the war in Iran and its wider readiness for conflict.
Following a briefing with senior civilian and military officials from the MoD on British operations in the Middle East, the committee said there was “coherent logic” to the UK response so far to the unfolding military action led by the US and Israel.
But they said there were “longstanding and grave concerns” about the Royal Navy’s ability to respond rapidly to a major crisis like the war in Iran.
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