Navy deploys attack sub to the Falklands
The navy has sent an attack submarine to the Falkland Islands to boost security there.
HMS Sceptre, a 5,000-tonne Swiftsure-class nuclear-powered submarine, has travelled to the region amid speculation that drillers have found oil.
The submarine will join the Portsmouth ships HMS York and Scott, which are already on routine patrol in the region.
It is hoped that adding the submarine will dampen any fresh claims by Argentina to the British islands.
According to reports in a national newspaper, the submarine's deployment came as British firm Desire Petroleum has struck oil.
Desire, the first company to explore there, is expected to announce next week whether it has had success.
It is understood that HMS Sceptre sailed south from the coast of southern Africa last month. Its mission in the South Atlantic is to monitor the disputed so-called Conservation Zone waters surrounding the islands - where drilling is under way.
A source said: 'Sceptre has state-of-the-art sensors and will be monitoring all ship movements in the area. The mere fact she is lurking somewhere in the waters around the islands will strike fear into the hearts of any possible enemy.' Naval expert Steve Bush, editor of Warship World, described the benefits of having a submarine in the area.
He said: 'They are vessels capable of reconnaissance, monitoring and anti-strike shipping missions if required.
'While there it will remain underwater. They will remain invisible. They will not know where it is, and that is the threat.' The navy refused to discuss Sceptre's deployment.
A spokesman at navy command headquarters in Portsmouth said: 'We do not comment on submarine operations.'
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Friday 25 May 2012
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