ONBOARD HMCS WINDSOR—A Canadian submarine was on the front lines as NATO allies scrambled last fall to track a “surge” of Russian subs that had deployed into the North Atlantic, the Star has learned.

HMCS Windsor, already in European waters for a NATO exercise, was re-tasked on a mission to try to track the Russian vessels.

Rear-Adm. John Newton, commander of Maritime Forces Atlantic, called the movement of Russian submarines “historically significant.”

“There was a quite a surge of Russian strategic power . . . it was moving a lot of boats around the North Atlantic,” he told the Star this week.

On the move were five Russian attack submarines, a show of force that might have been Moscow’s response to “Trident Juncture,” NATO’s largest exercise in a decade, involving 36,000 personnel from more than 30 nations.

But with the Russian boats active, the exercise turned real as NATO nations responded with ships and aircraft.

That included the HMCS Windsor, one of four Victoria-class submarines operated by the Royal Canadian Navy, which had been taking part in the NATO drill.

“Near the end, we were working bilaterally, nation-to-nation, in European waters when the opportunity came up to deal with a surge of undersea activity in the North Atlantic,” Newton said.

“Our role is to go with the alliance . . . and participate in coordinated surveillance, tracking, intelligence gathering,” he said.

The Star was among several media outlets invited onboard HMCS Windsor this week to get a glimpse of submarine life as it cruised underwater in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Nova Scotia.

The extent of Canada's role in last fall’s maritime cat-and-mouse game has not previously been disclosed.

For HMCS Windsor, the tasking set in motion a search far below the rolling ocean surface, as its crew used sophisticated sonar gear to listen for the telltale sounds of a Russian boat hiding in the depths.

And the submarine had a more capable set of ears, so to speak, thanks to a sonar system installed in 2014, the same gear used on the U.S. Virginia-class nuclear submarines, Newton said.

The upgraded sonar enables the crew of HMCS Windsor to pick up contacts at a longer distance and detect the telltale sounds of engines, even the noises of bearings, air pumps and hydraulic motors, to determine the classification of a ship, sometimes even the exact ship.

During its mission, HMCS Windsor prowled the area from the North Sea down to the Strait of Gibraltar, the strategic gateway to the Mediterranean.

Lt.-Cmdr. Peter Chu, commanding officer of the HMCS Windsor, says the boat was a “major” part of NATO’s effort to “track, follow and respond.”

“The situation evolved, matured. Canada presented the asset to NATO and off we went,” Chu said in an interview.

“What is really important is that Canada had an asset — HMCS Windsor — that was responding, tactically and operationally ready, and were able to do whatever NATO wanted,” he said.

The Star has learned that a CP-140 Aurora aircraft — dispatched overseas last November at the request of Great Britain — was also employed in the search to detect and track the Russian subs.

The surveillance aircraft — purpose-built as a sub hunter and upgraded with new electronics to better search for targets — was deployed to the Royal Air Force base at Lossiemouth in northern Scotland. The defence department has refused to talk about the aircraft’s role, saying only that it “routinely conducts operations and exercises” with the British, a statement it repeated to the Star on Friday.

Last fall’s surge by Russia comes as American and NATO military leaders are sounding the alarm about heightened levels of activity by the Russian submarine fleet that boast new capabilities and more proficient crews.

The commander of U.S. naval forces in Europe told CNN last month that Russia is deploying its submarines in numbers not seen in decades.

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“The submarines that we're seeing are much more stealthy,” Adm. Mark Ferguson told the news network.

“We're seeing (the Russians) have more advanced weapons systems, missile systems that can attack land at long ranges, and we also see their operating proficiency is getting better as they range farther from home waters,” Ferguson said.

The drama also happened against the backdrop of heightened tensions between NATO nations and Russia over Moscow’s aggression against Ukraine.

Newton said last fall’s events underscore the role of the subs — to covertly gather intelligence that is then shared with allies. “It’s a very clandestine battle. You never want to show your adversary you detect them,” Newton said.

Neither Chu nor Newton would say whether HMCS Windsor was able to detect and track one of the Russian vessels.

“We definitely were a major contributor. Everything with regards to the deployment was very successful,” Chu said.

But Vice-Admiral Mark Norman, commander of the Royal Canadian Navy, suggests that HMCS Windsor was successful in its mission. In a new video to highlight the navy, Norman singles out the submarine’s work last fall.

“The operational success of HMCS Windsor in particular is worthy of recognition,” Norman says.

“She was employed to help our NATO partners keep tabs on a very important vessel that was transiting through NATO’s operating areas,” Norman said.

HMCS Windsor returned to its Halifax home in December after 101 days at sea, the longest mission yet for Canada’s Victoria-class submarines and the high point of a maritime program burdened by its share of troubles.

Getting subs bought second-hand from the British operational has cost money and the life of a Canadian sailor, who was killed in 2004 when fire broke out on HMCS Chicoutimi.

But navy commanders are hoping the worst is behind them as they now exploit the capabilities of the sub fleet.

“For this boat, that was the peak of its operational readiness . . . to be employed directly in a task important to NATO, important to our bilateral relations with the French, the British and the Americans,” Newton said.

“She was doing her job.”

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