Footage of the encounter with HMS Duncan as it led a Nato fleet through the Black Sea in May has been released as a four-part documentary to be aired on Channel 5
A ROYAL Navy warship faced "brazen hostility" in the Black Sea as 17 Russian fighter jets dangerously buzzed it off the coast of Crimea.
Footage of the encounter with HMS Duncan as it led a Nato fleet through the Black Sea in May has been released as a four-part documentary to be aired on Channel 5.
The Russian jets are seen flying so close that the aircrafts' electronics could have been scrambled by the Portsmouth-based warship's radar system leaving the potential for them to crash.
The documentary comes after Russian warships fired on and seized several Ukrainian naval vessels in the same area yesterday.
The clash prompted Ukraine's president to declare martial law, sparking fears of an all-out war between the countries.
Speaking of the Brit ship, Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said: "Over the past year, HMS Duncan and her crew have embodied the key role the UK plays in Nato.
"As Nato flagship, she has faced down brazen Russian hostility in the Black Sea with jets buzzing overhead, been stalked by Russian spy ships and played a vital role protecting Nato allies during the British, American and French strikes against Syrian chemical weapons facilities.
"Through her deployment, this world-leading ship and her crew epitomised the nation we are going to be as we exit the EU - a truly global Britain which is outward-looking and engaged on the world stage."
Commodore Mike Utley, who was leading the Nato task force from Duncan, said: "HMS Duncan is probably the only maritime asset that has seen a raid of that magnitude in the last 25 years."
He added: "I think their tactics are naive. What they don't know is how capable the ship is.
"When you see that much activity, I think it reinforces the nature of what people expect at the moment and why there is a challenge from Russia."
RUSSIA is now a rogue state.
The incident off the coast of Crimea is only the latest reckless mark on an increasingly long rap sheet.
We must bring all the pressure we can to bear on the Putin regime, including massively ramping up the use of Unexplained Wealth Orders on the Russian oligarchs running up suspiciously large tabs in London department stores.
And alongside President Trump, we must persuade France, Germany and others to put their money where their mouth is and contribute more to Nato.
Forget notions of an EU army. Give some muscle to the alliance we already have.
The footage shows the jets circling the ship before returning to Russian airspace with one of the pilots sending a message to Duncan's crew, saying: "Good luck, guys."
The documentary shows one of Duncan's sailors saying they felt the message could have been a warning to the ship while another said: "They had 17 aircraft, we have 48 missiles - I think we're going to win that one."
Commander Eleanor Stack, Duncan's captain, said: "To me it felt unprecedented. There were more aircraft than we have seen in a long time."
Earlier, Duncan had launched its Merlin Mk2 helicopter to hunt a Russian spy ship spotted on radar.
DOWNING Street has blasted Russia for seizing three Ukrainian ships off Crimea.
Urging restraint, the Prime Minister’s spokesman said: “This incident provides further evidence of Russia’s destabilising behaviour in the region and its ongoing violation of Ukrainian territorial integrity.”
Lieutenant Commander James Smith said of the Nato presence in the Black Sea: "They may consider it to be escalatory, we certainly don't. But it depends on how you spin the narrative.
"The one thing the Russians are very good at is spinning a narrative.
"We have to demonstrate and create our own as well.
"They can scream and shout all they want but we still have the right, as do all these units, to be where we are, operating how we are."
The first episode of Warship: Life at Sea is being shown on Channel 5 tonight.
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