The deployed of the U.S. Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Newport News (SSN 750) to the Gibraltar Naval Base recently prompts concerns from some Russian news broadcasters and portals.
The flagship Russian publications, such as Sputnik, Lenta.ru and TASS, were concerned about the SSN 750’s deployments at the Gibraltar Naval Base.
According to Russian media, the US Navy’s Los Angeles-class submarine armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles has entered the port of Gibraltar at the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea. The nuclear-powered SSN 750 fast attack submarine was spotted near the port, with a Spanish customs boat being intercepted by a Gibraltar Defense Police vessel once it approached the US vessel.
The Ministry of Defence said it was “a scheduled logistical visit”.
Over the past two weeks, there has been a great deal of speculation in Russian media about the possibility of Western countries headed by the US in Syria. Also, the Russian Navy has dispatched the biggest task force to the Mediterranean Sea since the start of Russia’s intervention in the Syrian conflict in anticipation of what Moscow says is a possible U.S. strike on regime forces.
The Moscow Times also noted that the U.S. warned Russia last week that it was ready to take military action against Syria if President Bashar Assad uses chemical weapons to recapture Idlib, one of the last rebel-held areas in the war-torn country.
The Russian Defense Ministry, which called the allegations of a chemical attack a false flag operation, said on Monday it had noticed Washington was building up its military forces in the Middle East in preparation for possible attacks.
The emergence of the U.S. LA-class attack submarine armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles scared a number of experts and the media in Russia.
The Los Angeles-class, sometimes called the LA-class or the 688-class, is a class of nuclear-powered fast attack submarines that forms the backbone of the U.S. Navy’s submarine force.
The USS Newport News (SSN 750) nuclear-powered attack submarine and the last ship in this class with its diving planes assigned to the sail structure.