A team of scavenger divers have recovered what is believed to be a Russian tracking device off the coast of Wales.
Divers from Neptune’s Army of Rubbish Cleaners (NARC) discovered the object on November 15 during routine dives in the Skomer Marine Conservation Area, off Wooltack Point in Pembrokeshire.
The team initially assumed that the device was part of a navigation marker, but later suspected that it resembled a sonobuoy – an acoustic monitoring device, often used to detect submarines.
An independent defense analyst said he was “confident” the recovered object was an imploded Russian RGB-1A sonobuoy.
Dave Kennard, NARC chairman, said the object was discovered submerged in a canal by volunteer diver Tim Smith-Gosling.
After further inspection and research, including discussions with colleagues at the Port Authority Passage, the divers concluded that the object bore similarities to sonobags used for underwater detection.
The device, described by Mr Kennard as “beaten up,” measures about 120cm (50in) in length and weighs about 15kg (2.4 stone).
It was recovered by a lifting bag before being brought to the surface.
Mr Kennard, who was acting as diving marshal at the time, said the team was able to identify comparable finds reported in Cornwall and the Republic of Ireland in 2021.
After consulting with a previous Royal Navy contact, Mr Kennard follows the advised protocol of reporting the discovery to HM Coastguard.
A spokesperson for the Maritime and Coast Guard Agency confirmed that the report was recorded on November 19 but said, “no one was reported to be at risk or in distress and the communication was recorded, without a search and rescue response being required”.
The group of divers are usually tasked with removing trash from the water, such as these fishing materials that are found [David Kennard/NARC]
Although the diving group said they had not found anything like it before, the BBC understands that it is unusual for such objects to be found on the seabed around the UK due to the decades of naval activity in these waters.
A Royal Navy spokesman said: “We do not comment on specific underwater activities or individual finds due to operational security considerations.
“The Royal Navy continuously monitors and protects UK waters with a range of maritime assets and works closely with allies and partners to maintain maritime situational awareness and deter threats to UK interests.”
An independent defense analyst and submarine expert, who did not wish to be named, said he was “confident” the recovered object was a Russian RGB-1A sonar buoy, a type typically deployed by Russia’s Tu-142M long-range maritime attack aircraft.
He added: “Although there are suggestions that the device is no longer in active use, several of the same model have been found on beaches in the UK, Ireland and Lithuania in recent years.
“Their presence, and the relative lack of marine growth, suggests that they were likely dropped recently.”
Dr. Andy Scollick, a strategic defense adviser, also identified the device as a “Russian RGB-type hydroacoustic buoy, probably RGB-1”.
He highlighted the similarities between the newly recovered device and previously identified examples, including three vertically aligned hydrophones and signals consistent with a deep-water implosion.
He said the device was missing a sleeve, which would have been painted orange with a serial number marking.
Reports of comparable floor scrubbers also emerged from Russia’s Novosibirsky region in 2023 and Lithuania in 2024.
What is a sonobuoy?
A sonobuoy is a combination of the words sonar and buoy and is an acoustic sensor used to detect underwater objects such as submarines.
Because radio and GPS signals cannot easily pass through seawater, buoys are vital to modern naval detection systems and are routinely used by navies during exercises and operations.
First deployed during World War II to locate German U-boats, they became central to Cold War submarine tracking and continue to be used in both military surveillance and search and rescue operations.
They were among the tools used during the 2023 search for the missing Titan submersible and the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in 2014.
Authorities warn that members of the public should never touch or move suspected sonobags as they may contain dangerous materials, and should instead call 999 and ask for the coastguard.
Sonabuoys were used in the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 [Getty Images]
The discovery of the sonobuoy took place in the same week the Secretary of Defense of the United Kingdom John Healey confirmed that the Russian ship Yantar was operating at the edge of the waters of the United Kingdom.
While Russia describes the ship as an oceanic research vessel, Western countries have been monitoring its movements and have raised concerns that it is secretly mapping Britain’s submarine cables, where more than 90% of the country’s data, including billions of dollars of financial transactions, are transferred.
In a recent escalation, it was reported that Royal Air Force patrol pilots were targeted with lasers from the ship, an action which Mr Healey called “very dangerous”.
He said that the United Kingdom was prepared for any other activity if the ship moved south.
In a statement, the Russian Embassy said the country “is not interested in British underwater communications”,