NATO is increasingly alarmed by the pace of Russia’s modernization of its nuclear submarine fleet, according to Military Watch Magazine.

The report highlights concerns from First Sea Lord Gwyn Jenkins, who warned that London’s advantage in the Atlantic since 1945 is “at risk,” as the Royal Navy’s Astute-class attack boats spend extended periods in dock for maintenance, while Russia is adding quieter Yasen-M hulls equipped with Zircon missiles.

The American magazine reported that NATO has warned it is closely monitoring Russia’s modernizing submarine force, “highlighting the rapidly expanding capabilities of advanced nuclear-powered cruise-missile submarines in the High North.”

In a September 3 message, the Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum, a key operational-level military headquarters for NATO located in the Netherlands, stated:

“Something is moving beneath the surface. Russia is expanding and modernizing its submarine force, with the Kola Peninsula remaining a key hub for the Northern Fleet.”

It pointed to new-generation nuclear-powered guided-missile submarines, which Military Watch says provide “serious long-range strike and sea-denial capabilities” in the Arctic. The magazine adds that the statement was widely interpreted as referring to the Yasen-class nuclear-powered attack submarines, “which have significantly superior capabilities compared to ships from previous generations, and have recently been enhanced to integrate Zircon hypersonic cruise missiles.”

NATO also emphasized that it does not consider the boats undetectable:

“They may be invisible beneath the waves. But not for us. We see them, we watch the developments closely, and yes, we take these developments seriously.”

However, on reducing noise, Military Watch writes:

“The Yasen-M class’ quieting measures are particularly extensive, with machinery mounted on vibration-damping platforms, while considerable effort was invested in reducing hydrodynamic noise.”

The same article notes that in December 2025 the head of the British Royal Navy, First Sea Lord General Gwyn Jenkins, warned that British and allied forces “could soon lose their advantage in the Atlantic Ocean” and highlighted “the significant strengthening of Russian submarine capabilities.”

Speaking at the International Sea Power Conference, Jenkins said the postwar Atlantic edge was “at risk,” adding:

“We are holding on, but not by much.”

He claimed there was a 30% increase in Russian incursions into UK waters over two years and said surface spy ships such as Yantar were “only the visible bit,” adding that “It’s what’s going on under the waves that most concerns me.”

He also said Northern Fleet funding had “continued to flow despite the war in Ukraine” and that Moscow views the undersea contest as “an area of expertise and advantage.”

The Royal Navy has struggled to match that tempo with its own deployable boats. Jenkins has said he is “not satisfied” with attack-submarine availability and has made fixing it his “number one priority.”

By mid-2026, all five Astute-class hunter-killer submarines were in maintenance, refit, or recovery, according to open-source reports and parliamentary reviews. Astute was undergoing a multi-year midlife overhaul; Ambush and Artful had been inactive for some time; Audacious was leaving dry dock at Devonport; and Anson had returned after a shortened cruise. The Trafalgar-class boat had been fully retired in 2024, leaving no spare hulls. Meanwhile, a sixth Astute submarine, Agamemnon, was nearing sea trials, and a seventh, Achilles, was still under construction.

Deep maintenance primarily occurs at Devonport and Faslane, where limited dock space, spare parts, and nuclear-qualified personnel mean that Vanguard ballistic-missile submarines receive priority for Continuous At-Sea Deterrent patrols. Some Astutes have waited years for a dock, and parts are often cannibalized from one submarine to keep others operational. This results in shorter at-sea periods for crews, which former submarine captains warn could weaken both training and presence in the GIUK (Greenland, Iceland, and the United Kingdom) gap, a major naval choke point in the northern Atlantic Ocean.

Jenkins has pushed the Atlantic Bastion, a network of sensors, unmanned vessels, and AI, from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge to the Norwegian Sea. He has also enhanced cooperation with “northern navies’ and ordered a submarine maintenance recovery plan. Additionally, he is pushing to speed up base upgrades. Despite these efforts, the unmanned network remains unproven and cannot replace a nuclear attack submarine on station. Britain is currently relying on towed-array frigates and a small P-8 Poseidon squadron to monitor waters that Yasen-class submarines are designed to traverse quietly.

Military Watch further reports that on July 24, 2025, President Vladimir Putin “gave instructions to continue the serial production of Yasen-M-class submarines, emphasizing their role as the backbone of the Russian Navy’s general-purpose forces,” and that Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Alexander Moiseyev said in March 2026 that the Navy would transition to an all-Yasen nuclear-attack-submarine force within ten years, which will ensure that Russia remains the dominant naval power in the region.

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Ahmed Adel is a Cairo-based geopolitics and political economy researcher. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

Featured image: K-560 Severodvinsk/Yasen class (CC BY 4.0)

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