영국 해군은 현재 대잠전 능력이 심각하게 부족하다

[위종민]

When Computers Went To Sea | 영국의 하이브리드 함대 - Daum 카페

영국의 하이브리드 함대

When Computers Went To Sea | 영국 해군의 하이브리드 해군 올인 - 수상함 전력의 승부수 - Daum 카페

영국 해군의 하이브리드 해군 올인 - 수상함 전력의 승부수

영국 의회 국방위원회가 지난 목요일 발표한 조사보고서에 따르면 영국 해군은 현재 23형 대잠호위함을 공식적으로 제기된 소요량인 8척에 한참 못 미치는 5척만 보유중이며 향후 3년 동안 예인소나를 보유한 호위함 숫자가 5척에 머무를 수 있다고 합니다. 향후 23형 호위함을 더 퇴역시키지 말고 26형 호위함으로 일대일 교체해야 한다고 주장했네요. 

26형 호위함은 현재 8척이 건조중이고 2030년 인도될 예정입니다만, 노르웨이에 2척을 먼저 납품할 경우 2037년이 돼야 대잠호위함 8척을 확보할 수 있게 되네요. 

영국 해군의 하이브리드 해군 사업에 대해서도, 북극권 및 북대서양은 무인체계를 운용하기에 극도로 까다로운 환경이라서 성능을 입증하기 전엔 유인전력을 대체해서는 안된다고 평가했습니다. 

# 영국 해군에 ‘심각한’ 대잠전 능력 공백 존재, 의회 위원회 지적

루디 루이텐베르크

2026년 10월 22일 오후 8시 7분

2025년 5월 12일 런던 타워브리지에 정박한 23형 프리깃 HMS 서덜랜드함. (Matthew Chattle/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

파리 — 영국 해군에는 러시아의 잠수함 및 수중 사보타주 위협에 대응하는 영국의 능력을 약화시키는 ‘심각한 대잠전 능력 공백’이 존재한다고 북극권 및 북대서양 방위 문제를 조사한 영국 의회 국방위원회가 지적했다.

국방위원회가 목요일 발표한 조사보고서에 따르면, 현재 영국 해군이 운용 중인 대잠전용 23형 프리깃은 5척에 불과해 공식적으로 제시된 소요량인 8척에 미치지 못한다. 또한 분석 결과에 따르면 예인배열소나를 탑재한 프리깃의 수는 향후 3년 동안에도 5척에 머무를 가능성이 있다.

보고서에 따르면 대잠전 프리깃은 북극권과 북대서양은 물론 영국 본토 주변 해역에서 러시아 잠수함을 탐지하는 데 도움을 주는 ‘핵심적인’ 전력이다. 여기에는 영국의 핵억제력을 제공하는 탄도미사일 잠수함이 스코틀랜드 패슬레인 기지를 출입할 때 이를 보호하는 임무도 포함된다.

위원회는 “신형 프리깃들이 결국 충분한 수량으로 함대에 합류하겠지만, 현재 함대의 준비태세를 보면 영국이 2030년까지 북극권 및 북대서양에서 요구되는 해상임무를 지속적으로 수행할 수 있을지 의문이 제기된다”고 밝혔다.

위원회는 북극권 및 북대서양에서 대잠작전이 수행하는 핵심적인 역할을 언급하면서, 예인소나를 탑재한 23형 프리깃이 향후 26형 프리깃으로 일대일 교체되기 전까지 추가로 퇴역하지 않도록 정부가 보장해야 한다고 권고했다.

영국은 대잠전 임무를 위해 BAE 시스템스에 26형 프리깃 8척을 발주했으며, 초도함은 2028년 취역할 예정이다. 루크 폴러드 영국 국방부 국무상은 지난 6월 사업이 계획대로 진행되고 있다고 밝혔다. 노르웨이는 2025년 8월 26형 프리깃 5척을 구매하겠다고 발표했으며, 인도는 2030년에 시작될 예정이다.

노르웨이에 대한 인도 기한을 맞추기 위해 영국용으로 건조 중인 26형 프리깃 2척을 대신 노르웨이에 인도할 경우, 영국 해군이 예인배열소나를 탑재한 프리깃 8척이라는 소요량을 충족하는 시점은 2037년이 될 것이다.

위원회는 “수출 성과가 영국 해군 자체의 26형 프리깃 인도 일정에 악영향을 미쳐서는 안 된다”고 밝혔다. “정부는 해군 함정 수출이 부족한 함정, 체계, 숙련인력을 놓고 영국의 소요와 경쟁하는 것이 아니라, 산업 생산능력과 동맹국의 역량을 확대하도록 보장해야 한다.”

위원회가 북극의 광범위한 지역과 북대서양 일부로 정의한 ‘고위도 북부지역(High North)’은 기후변화로 인해 해당 지역에 대한 접근성이 높아지면서 영국의 국방 및 안보 우려에서 ‘핵심적인’ 위치를 차지하게 됐다고 보고서는 설명했다.

위원회에 따르면 빙상과 해빙이 녹으면서 과거에는 대부분 접근하기 어려웠던 러시아 기지들이 노출되자, 러시아는 이러한 기지들을 방어하는 동시에 대서양과 영국 영해로 군사력을 투사하려 하고 있다. 이는 미국에서 유럽으로 이어지는 NATO의 보급로뿐 아니라 영국의 핵억제력을 포함한 해저 및 육상 기반시설에도 위협이 된다.

보고서에 따르면 신뢰할 만한 빙하 하부 작전능력이 부족하다는 것은 영국 해군이 북극권 및 북대서양에서 러시아의 자유로운 행동을 견제할 능력이 떨어진다는 뜻이며, 이로 인해 영국이 더욱 방어적인 태세를 취하도록 강요받을 위험이 있다. 국방위원회는 영국의 애스튜트급 원자력 추진 공격잠수함 가운데 적어도 일부에 빙하 하부 작전능력을 재확립하기 위한 진전 상황을 위원들에게 보고하도록 정부에 요청했다.

위원회 보고서는 영국 해군의 대잠전 프리깃과 원자력 추진 잠수함이 러시아 잠수함 및 수중 사보타주가 제기하는 위협에 대해 가장 강력한 억제력을 제공하지만, “불행히도 이 전력들은 노후화됐거나 정비 문제로 너무 자주 운용할 수 없는 상태에 놓여 있다”고 밝혔다.

보고서에 따르면 영국이 효과적인 연합전력을 이끌려면 해군 전력의 가용성에서 나타나는 ‘명백한 공백’을 해결하고, 2030년부터 북극권 및 북대서양에서 발생할 수 있는 모든 침략행위를 억제하고 필요할 경우 격퇴하기 위해 유럽 동맹국들과 합의된 계획을 마련해야 한다.

위원회는 영국과 동맹국들이 미국의 지원 없이 작전하는 상황을 가정한 2030년 북극권 및 북대서양 분쟁에서의 능력 공백에 관해 기밀 평가자료를 제출하도록 국방부에 요청했다.

보고서는 “특히 영국 해군의 장비 준비태세와 플랫폼 수량은 현재 정부가 명시한 소요 수준에 크게 못 미치고 있다”고 밝혔다. “러시아의 어떠한 위협도 억제하거나 격퇴할 준비를 갖춰야 하는 핵심 시점으로 2030년이 제시된 만큼, 이번 10년이 끝나기 전에 북극권 및 북대서양 작전을 위한 영국군의 가용성과 능력을 개선하는 데 획기적인 진전이 필요하다.”

위원회에 따르면 영국 해군은 프리깃 13척과 구축함 6척을 필요로 하지만, 이러한 수량을 충족하는 데 어려움을 겪어왔다. 현재 운용 중인 함정은 23형 프리깃 5척과 45형 구축함 6척뿐이다.

북극항로의 접근성이 높아짐에 따라 러시아가 이 지역의 통제권을 독점하려 할 수 있으므로, 영국 정부는 항행의 자유를 지원하기 위해 영국 국유 선박이 이 항로를 통과하는 방안을 준비해야 한다고 위원회는 밝혔다. 상하이에서 로테르담까지 항해하는 거리는 북극항로를 이용할 경우 약 1만 4,900km인 반면, 수에즈운하를 경유하면 약 1만 9,500km에 달한다.

보고서는 유인함정과 무인함정을 결합하려는 영국의 ‘하이브리드 해군(Hybrid Navy)’ 사업에 대해서도 의문을 제기했다. 북극권 및 북대서양은 자율체계에 ‘극도로 까다로운 환경’이며, 무인체계가 혹독한 북극 환경에서 성능을 입증하기 전까지 이러한 개념이 유인 전력을 대체하는 수단이 돼서는 안 된다는 것이다.

위원회는 정부가 하이브리드 해군의 주요 무인체계들을 작전임무에 투입하기 전에 북극권 및 북대서양 환경에서 어떻게 시험할 것인지 1년 이내에 설명해야 한다고 권고했다. 시험에서는 혹한기 성능, 전파방해에 대한 저항능력, 적에 의한 탈취로부터의 보호 등의 문제를 검토해야 한다.

## 루디 루이텐베르크 소개

루디 루이텐베르크는 Defense News의 유럽 담당 특파원이다. 블룸버그 뉴스에서 기자 생활을 시작했으며, 기술, 원자재 시장, 정치 분야를 취재한 경력이 있다.

UK’s Royal Navy has ‘serious’ anti-submarine warfare gap, committee finds

UK’s Royal Navy has ‘serious’ anti-submarine warfare gap, committee finds

UK’s Royal Navy has ‘serious’ anti-submarine warfare gap, committee finds

By Rudy Ruitenberg

 Oct 22, 2026, 08:07 PM

Type 23 frigate HMS Sutherland is pictured at Tower Bridge in London on May 12, 2025. (Matthew Chattle/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

PARIS — The United Kingdom’s Royal Navy has a “serious anti-submarine warfare gap” that weakens the country’s ability to respond to Russia’s submarine and underwater-sabotage threat, a parliamentary committee on defense in the High North found.

The Royal Navy currently has only five Type 23 frigates for anti-submarine warfare in service, compared with a stated requirement of eight, and analysis suggests the number of frigates equipped with a towed array sonar could remain as low as five for the next three years, the Defence Committee wrote in an inquiry report published on Thursday.

Anti-submarine warfare frigates are “critical” to helping locate Russian submarines, both in the High North as well as in British home waters, including to protect the U.K.’s ballistic missile submarines that provide the country’s nuclear deterrent when entering or leaving their base in Faslane, Scotland, according to the report.

“Although new frigates will eventually join the fleet in sufficient numbers, the current fleet readiness picture raises doubts about whether the U.K. could sustain the maritime tasks required in the High North by 2030,” the committee said.

Citing the critical role of anti-submarine operations in the High North, the committee recommended the government ensures no further Type 23 frigates equipped with towed sonar leave Navy service until they’re replaced on a one-on-one basis by the future Type 26 frigates.

The U.K. has ordered eight Type 26 frigates from BAE Systems for the anti-submarine warfare role, with the lead vessel scheduled to enter service in 2028, and Minister of State for Defence Luke Pollard said in June that the program remained on track. Norway said in August 2025 it would buy five Type 26s, with delivery to start in 2030.

Should two of the Type 26 frigates being built for the U.K. instead go to Norway to meet the delivery deadline, the Royal Navy would take until 2037 to meet its requirement for a fleet of eight frigates equipped with a towed array sonar.

“Export success must not come at the expense of the Royal Navy’s own Type 26 frigate delivery timelines,” the committee said. “The government must ensure that naval exports expand industrial capacity and allied capability, rather than competing with U.K. requirements for scarce ships, systems and skilled labor.”

The High North, which the committee defined as the greater Arctic and parts of the North Atlantic, “has become central” in U.K. defense and security concerns, with climate change increasing access to the region, according to the report.

As melting ice sheets and sea ice expose Russian bases that were previously mostly inaccessible, Russia is seeking both to defend those bases as well as project force into the Atlantic and U.K. territorial waters, according to the committee. That threatens NATO supply lines from the United States to Europe, as well as undersea and onshore infrastructure, including the U.K.’s nuclear deterrent.

Lack of a credible under-ice capability means the Navy is less able to contest Russian freedom of action in the High North, which risks forcing the U.K. into a more defensive posture, according to the report. The Defence Committee asked the government to brief panel members on progress towards re-establishing an under-ice capability for at least some of the country’s Astute-class nuclear-powered attack submarines.

The Navy’s ASW frigates and nuclear-powered submarines offer the greatest deterrent against the threat posed by Russian submarines and underwater sabotage, though “unfortunately, they are either aging or too often unavailable due to maintenance issues,” the committee report said.

For the U.K. to lead an effective coalition would require the country to address “glaring gaps” in the availability of its maritime forces, and an agreed plan with European allies to deter and if necessary defeat any aggression in the High North from 2030, according to the report.

The committee asked the Ministry of Defence to provide a classified assessment of the capability gaps in case of a conflict in the High North in 2030 in which the U.K. and allies would operate without U.S. support.

“Royal Navy equipment readiness and platform numbers in particular are currently far worse than the government’s stated requirements,” the report said. “With 2030 identified as a key date by which to be ready to deter or defeat any Russian threat, dramatic progress is required before the end of the decade to improve the availability and capabilities of the U.K.’s Armed Forces for operations in the High North.”

The Royal Navy has a requirement for 13 frigates and six destroyers, but has struggled to meet those numbers, the committee said, with only the five Type 23 frigates and six Type 45 destroyers in service.

With the Northern Sea Route becoming more accessible, Russia may try to turn control there into a monopoly, and the government should prepare options for a U.K. state-owned vessel to transit the route to support freedom of navigation, the committee said. Sailing from Shanghai to Rotterdam takes about 14,900 kilometers via the northern route, compared with 19,500 km via the Suez Canal.

The report raised questions about the U.K.’s Hybrid Navy program to combine crewed and uncrewed vessels, saying the High North is “an exceptionally demanding environment” for autonomous systems, and the concept should not become a substitute for crewed capability before unmanned systems have been proven in harsh Arctic conditions.

The committee recommended the government explain within a year how it will test the Hybrid Navy’s main uncrewed systems in High North conditions before relying on them for operational tasks, looking at issues such as cold-weather performance, resistance to jamming and protection from capture.

About Rudy Ruitenberg

Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.