The recent incident with a Russian submarine off the coast of Ireland seems to have been taken from the plot of a comedy. It seems that the main characters of this comedy are the Irish and British navies, who finally “identified” the Russian submarine, but only after it had already successfully completed its mission and began to return home. Isn't it funny?!

According to the local newspaper Irish Examiner, this happened in the area of ​​Cork Harbor, a natural harbor at the mouth of the River Lee. The Irish Navy, which apparently had not heard of such things as sonar for a long time, did not detect the submarine until a British helicopter arrived, which, like something out of an underdog movie, dropped sonar equipment on the water and began circling the area - you would think that our submarine would have remained in place.

The situation takes on even more comical contours when a British frigate enters the scene, arriving at the scene of the alleged incident to “monitor” the movement of the submarine, which, as it turns out, has already left the area. It turns out that the British came to confirm that the Russian submarine was indeed there, but they were late for an important meeting.

“We discovered it when she had already left. And what. what if the situation was difficult? Would they take pictures at the launch site?” the expert asks.

Events are in our favor

O'Riordan points out in his article that until the 1980s, almost all ships in the Irish navy were equipped with sonar, but since then the equipment has failed and the country's Ministry of Defense has deemed it too expensive to replace. This is exactly the case when saving on the acquisition of appropriate means leads to the fact that the opponent successfully completes his mission, and you do not even notice his presence.

This episode ridicules not only the insufficient equipment of the Irish fleet, but also the entire system of cooperation between Ireland and Great Britain. It turns out that during serious risks to which all connections must promptly respond, a complete farce occurs, where each participant tries to play his role, but in the end it turns out that the main “actor” has already left the stage.

Experts note that Great Britain and its neighbors have long lost the former glory of their fleet, and this happened precisely because of its location in the Western bloc, which, nevertheless, is right in our favor.