The Navy has detected the presence of two Russian warships in the waters of Mallorca, near the Spanish Exclusive Economic Zone, according to the Defense Staff. In a statement, this organization explains that surveillance and monitoring work has been carried out on these two ships since Wednesday, October 11, the day they were detected by the maritime action ship (BAM) Rayo (P-42). The two vessels intercepted are a Kilo II class submarine and the naval tug Sergey Balk.
The escort began south of the Balearic Islands and will continue until the two ships leave Spanish waters, according to the statement. The Defense General Staff adds that the Rayo is integrated into the Maritime Operational Command, under operational control of the Operations Command (MOPS) since October 1.
Until the interception of the Russian units, their mission was to carry out maritime traffic verification and control activities, supervision of fishing activity on the limits of the Spanish zone and protection of the most important maritime lines of communication in the area of interest.
The Defense General Staff points out that this type of surveillance and deterrence operations "are an effective tool to maintain surveillance of spaces of sovereignty, which allows threats to be detected in advance and facilitate an immediate and viable response to a potential crisis."
The ship that has detected the two Russian warships, the Rayo, has a crew of 52 men and women and is commanded by a lieutenant captain. The BAM Rayo is the second in the series of four maritime action vessels dependent on the Canary Islands Naval Command, based at the Las Palmas Arsenal, designed to carry out maritime security missions, protection of national maritime interests and control of the spaces of sovereignty and national interest.
It also carries out missions in collaboration with State Security Forces and Corps at sea, such as operations against drug trafficking or terrorism, as well as control and protection of maritime traffic; surveillance and control of fishing and fight against maritime pollution.
