WATCH: Russian military vessel approximately 15 nautical miles south of Oahu on October 29, 2025.
Newly declassified information confirms that a Russian intelligence vessel was operating just off the coast of Honolulu on October 29.
The Coast Guard identified the ship—Kareliya, a Vishnya-class intelligence platform—only 15 nautical miles south of Oahu.
The Coast Guard immediately deployed an HC-130 Hercules aircraft and a cutter to track the ship’s movements, documenting a vessel explicitly built for intercepting communications, mapping infrastructure, and gathering signals intelligence near foreign coastlines.
The footage and accompanying reports show a targeted response.
Coast Guard personnel conducted controlled overflights, maintained visual contact, and monitored the vessel as it maneuvered near U.S. waters.
International law allows foreign military ships to pass outside the 12-nautical-mile line, but the purpose of a Vishnya-class vessel is not transit.
The Soviet Navy designed these ships in the 1980s to collect intelligence against adversaries. Seven remain in service. Their presence near U.S. territory is strategic, not incidental.
This was not the first time the Kareliya appeared near Hawaii. It was previously detected in 2021, and another Russian intelligence ship was tracked near the islands in 2023.
Russian military aircraft also routinely enter the Alaskan air-defense identification zone. The zone begins immediately beyond U.S. territory, and foreign aircraft are required to identify themselves.
Most flights are monitored without incident, but recent activity has become more aggressive.
In September 2024, NORAD released footage of a Russian Su-35 flying within a few feet of a U.S. aircraft—an interaction a U.S. general described as “unsafe” and “unprofessional.”
These incidents illustrate a pattern that has been developing for years. Russian intelligence units continue probing U.S. territory, testing response times, and collecting data on undersea cables, radar sites, and maritime traffic.
The United Kingdom reached similar conclusions earlier this year after tracking a Russian spy ship mapping its underwater infrastructure.
British officials warned publicly that these operations were not routine navigation but deliberate intelligence collection.
The political response inside the United States has not matched the scale of the problem.
Democrats continue arguing for reduced defense spending and a smaller naval presence in the Indo-Pacific.
They describe repeated Russian incursions as “not a threat,” even as intelligence vessels position themselves within miles of Hawaii.
The footage released this week contradicts that view. The United States faces adversaries that operate close to American territory with increasing frequency, and those operations require a serious national-security posture—not a downplayed assessment designed for political convenience.
The declassified footage makes clear that deterrence still matters, and weakening it carries real consequences.
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