A group of volunteer scuba divers off the coast of Wales unexpectedly recovered what defense analysts believe is a Russian sonar buoy designed to track submarines, the BBC reported on November 23.
The object was discovered on November 15 by Neptune’s Army of Rubbish Cleaners (NARC), a long-running volunteer group that removes debris from UK coastal waters.
❗️Near the coast of Wales, divers have found a Russian hydroacoustic buoy, likely an RGB-1A.
Hydroacoustic buoys are used to detect underwater objects, including submarines. pic.twitter.com/ne3gzxKLrZ
— 🪖MilitaryNewsUA🇺🇦 (@front_ukrainian) November 24, 2025
Divers initially assumed the large cylindrical item was part of a navigational marker, but after a closer look, the team realized it resembled military acoustic equipment.
The device—roughly 4 feet long and weighing around 33 pounds—was wedged in a rocky gulley in the Skomer Marine Conservation Zone. It was lifted to the surface using a dive bag and later turned over to the UK Coastguard.
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NARC chairman Dave Kennard said the divers became suspicious after comparing the object to previously recovered finds in Cornwall and Ireland. Discussions with port officials and former Royal Navy contacts strengthened the belief that it was a military hydroacoustic buoy.
An independent defense analyst told the BBC he was “confident” the device was a Russian RGB-1A sonar buoy, a type typically dropped by Russia’s Tu-142M maritime patrol aircraft. He noted that similar models have washed up in the UK, Ireland, Lithuania, and even inside Russia’s own Novosibirsk region in recent years. Their relatively clean condition, he said, suggests they were likely deployed not long ago.
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Another specialist, strategic defense consultant Dr. Andy Scollick, identified the object as a “Russian hydroacoustic buoy of type RGB, probably RGB-1,” highlighting diagnostic features such as its arrangement of hydrophones and signs of deep-water implosion.
A spokesperson for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency confirmed the report, adding that no rescue response was required because no lives were at risk.
The Royal Navy declined to discuss the specific discovery, saying only: “We do not comment on specific underwater activities or individual finds due to operational security considerations.”
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The Navy emphasized that it continually monitors UK waters and works closely with allied militaries to track foreign underwater activity.
Earlier, the UK Royal Navy intercepted two Russian naval vessels moving along Britain’s coastline.
The offshore patrol ship HMS Severn shadowed the Russian corvette Stoikiy and the tanker Elnya for nearly two weeks as they transited through the Dover Strait and continued west into the Channel.
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