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A heavily-armed British warship shadowed a Russian Navy spy ship as it headed home from top secret operations off the coast of Syria.
The Royal Navy’s HMS Diamond took over escorting Russia’s reconnaissance vessel Yantar from the French navy as it passed into the English Channel, heading east.
It is thought the French military had escorted Yantar - which is bristling with ultra high-tech spying gadgets - all the way through the Bay of Biscay.
Britain’s Portsmouth-based Type 45 destroyer was joined by a Wildcat helicopter from 815 Naval Air Squadron, based in Yeovilton in following the Kremlin’s spy ship.
HMS Diamond met up with Yantar at 0900am and escorted the vessel all the way through the Channel until it headed north.
The Russian vessel Yantar is a specialist reconnaissance ship which carries two unmanned submersible vehicles, which can descend to the sea bed and send back images as well as collecting items from the bottom of the ocean.