Russia fooled by ‘HMS Prince Andrew'
Russian state media fell for an April Fool's joke that said the UK would expand the Royal Navy with a new Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier called HMS Prince Andrew.
RT, one of the Kremlin's main propaganda outlets, mistook the parody for real news and repeated comically false claims about the non-existent vessel.
Published by UK Defence Journal, the satirical article claimed HMS Prince Andrew would be painted with 'go-faster stripes to improve speed and morale'.
Operation readiness would be boosted, the article explained, through an expanded 'crayon provision' programme for the ship's planning rooms and situation boards.
As for armaments, HMS Prince Andrew would carry 'infinity-hundred' aircraft and Trident nuclear missiles 'for deterrence purposes'.
The outlet, poking fun at the huge delays, operational issues and costs (£6 billion) involved in building HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, said the third ship would cost just a 'modest £987.6 billion'.
That is, 'assuming no further adjustments, delays, or 'unexpected procurement events''.
The article also joked that that its unlimited aircraft would give the vessel a 'theoretical edge over any known carrier fleet in existence, real or imagined'. It also mentioned 'naval typhoons', which do not currently exist, as it is a land-based fighter jet.
It said the new carrier would be a 'vital step toward revitalising British naval power on the global stage – or at least making a very big splash'.
RT's report, headlined 'Britain to Expand Navy Due to 'Russian Threat'', lifted lines from the April 1st article from made-up people and presented them as real analysis.
It quoted: 'Bryan Robertson, a senior analyst at the DMCS think tank, called the decision to expand the fleet 'a waste of money and human lives' He stressed that one strike would turn the carrier into 'a pile of scrap metal.''
The expert was fictional, and DMCS was in fact an acronym for the 'Daily Mail Comment Section'.
RT, formerly known as Russia Today, is a state-funded broadcaster accused of being a mouthpiece for the Kremlin. RT UK was banned in Britain in March 2022, following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The UK Defence Journal later mocked RT for what it described as 'poor editorial standards' and a 'worrying lapse in basic journalistic scrutiny'.
'The story was clearly tongue-in-cheek, packed with intentionally absurd claims designed to amuse rather than inform.'
It also has raised questions over whether RT deliberately reported the absurd claims to mislead the Russian public and spread disinformation to potentially discredit the Royal Navy.
Britain often names its warships after members of the Royal family, however the Duke of York's reputation has declined after a string of scandals including accusations of sexual assault, which he has constantly denied.
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