A Russian intelligence ship has been spotted off the coast of Kings Bay, Ga., too close for comfort to the U.S. Navy's East Coast Ballistic missile submarine fleet, which calls Kings Bay home.
The Russian ship is capable of cutting undersea communications, cables and other sensors, according to FOX News. Although the Russian ship's destination is Cuba, the U.S. has been closely monitoring it for the last month.
A senior defense official told FOX News that the Russian ship tracked by the Pentagon, although close to the U.S., is actually in international waters.
U.S. intelligence ships, aircraft, and satellites are all monitoring the Russian research ship, Yantar, as it navigates south toward Cuba, sailing near the U.S. nuclear missile submarine base and underwater transit routes.
Yantar is believed to be one of Russia's newly commissioned military research vessels. The new fleet is designed to be a strategic intelligence-gathering operation against U.S. nuclear missile submarines and other targets.
Under President Vladimir Putin, Russia has upped their military spending in recent years. In 2011, they started a $300 billion military modernization effort to modernize its Kirov-class ships after years of post-Soviet decay, according to The Moscow Times.
Pentagon Officials said another factor "increasing U.S. concerns about Russian reconnaissance is Moscow's recent adoption of a new military doctrine that places a greater reliance on strategic nuclear forces," according to the Free Beacon. "Russia's priority for shipbuilding under the new doctrine will be ballistic missile submarines and nuclear attack submarines for its Northern and Pacific fleets."
