Russian Boats Wanting To Play At Varsity Level

Here's a story from The Daily Telegraph about how a front-line Russian SSN has reportedly been trying to track a British boomer over the last few months. Excerpts:

A specially upgraded Russian Akula class submarine has been caught trying to record the acoustic signature made by the Vanguard submarines that carry Trident nuclear missiles, according to senior Navy officers.
British submariners have also reported that they are experiencing the highest number of "contacts" with Russian submarines since 1987...
...The Daily Telegraph has learnt that, within the past six months, a Russian Akula entered the North Atlantic and attempted to track a Vanguard. The incident has remained secret until now.
It is understood that the Russians stood off Faslane, where the British nuclear force is based, and waited for a Trident-carrying boat to come out for its three-month patrol to provide the Continuous At Sea Deterrent.

I know the reaction from most Submariners is "Oh, how cute! The Russkie-pusskies want to come play. Aren't they grown up!" And, of course, if they were trying that crap off of our waters, we could afford to make fun of them as we fold, spindle, and mutilate their acoustic signature while getting a lot of training for our forces. The thing is, the Russians are actually playing with someone who is right about at their level -- a British defense (or "defence") establishment that has thrown away whatever power-projection capabilities they may have over the last several years, and now can't even drive off an unfriendly SSN right off their coast. Hopefully, the Brits have swallowed their pride and are getting some help from their Big Brothers across the ocean.