A supposed US submarine was detected and “forced out” by the Russian anti-sub forces after it violated the country’s boundary waters in the Arctic, a high-ranked source within the Russian Navy’s headquarters said.

“On August 7, a foreign submarine, presumably belonging to the US Navy’s Virginia class, was detected in the Barents Sea by the alert forces of the Northern Fleet,” the source told Russian media.



According to the source, a group of anti-submarine vessels and an anti-submarine Il-38 aircraft were sent into the area on a search and trace mission.



“The vigorous action of the anti-submarine forces of the Northern Fleet resulted in the submarine being forced out of the boundary waters of the Russian Federation,” the source said.



“Contact with the submarine lasted for about 27 minutes and then the American sub left the area,” he added.



The source gave a reminder that it’s not the first case recently of a foreign submarine being spotted in the Barents Sea.



Such actions by the NATO undersea fleet have led to a number of navigation incidents in the Arctic.



“A collision with US nuclear submarine, Toledo, was one the main explanations of the Kursk submarine tragedy in 2000,” the Navy source said.



All 118 crewmembers died after Russia’s Kursk nuclear submarine sank in the Barents Sea on August 12, 2000.



In 1992, USS Baton Rouge collided with Russia’s K-276 submarine, while 1986 saw a crash between the British Royal Navy’s HMS Splendid and the Soviet Taifun vessel.