Tag Archives: Royal Navy

Marine F-35 Squadron Details Training Deployment Aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth

Marine F-35 Squadron Details Training Deployment Aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth

Capt Christopher Streicher with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 211 completes pre-flight checks in an F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter aboard Her Majesty’s Ship (HMS) Queen Elizabeth at sea on 28 September, 2020. US Marine Corps Photo

This week a squadron of Marine F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters wrapped up nearly two months of training aboard the U.K. Royal Navy HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08), paving the way for U.S. and U.K. fighters to operate interchangeably when the British aircraft carrier leaves on its first deployment. Read More

Arrowhead Wins Cost Battle in U.K. Type-31 Frigate Competition

Arrowhead Wins Cost Battle in U.K. Type-31 Frigate Competition

Type-31 frigate design concept. Babcock Image

The following post has been updated to correct the cost of the Type-31 program. The U.K. plans to pay $1.6 billion for all five hulls, not $1.6 billion for each hull.

LONDON — The victory of the Babcock/Thales Arrowhead 140 design in Britain’s bargain-basement Type 31 frigate competition will give the Royal Navy a heavyweight fighter in the maritime security arena. Read More

DSEI: U.K. Crafting New Command and Control Regime as Royal Navy Grows

DSEI: U.K. Crafting New Command and Control Regime as Royal Navy Grows

HMS Queen Elizabeth conducting a Replenishment At Sea with RFA Tideforce on Sept. 8, 2019. Royal Navy Photo

LONDON — The Royal Navy’s metamorphosis from a provider of lone warships to the world’s maritime hotspots into a service deploying carrier strike and amphibious task groups will be accompanied by an equally significant transformation in command and control (C2), according to the U.K.’s surface fleet commander. Read More

Iran Tanker Seizures Pushing U.K. Royal Navy to its Limits as New PM Takes Charge

Iran Tanker Seizures Pushing U.K. Royal Navy to its Limits as New PM Takes Charge

Secretary of State for Defence, Ben Wallace MP (center), seen here with the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson (right), anboard a Vanguard class SSBN
UK Prime Minister The Rt Hon Boris Johnson visits HMNB Clyde. July 29, 2019. UK MoD Photo

LONDON — Britain’s new prime minister, Boris Johnson, is facing a maritime security standoff with Iran that could, if handled indelicately, spark conflict in the Persian Gulf region. Read More

U.S. Leading NATO Maritime Group Amid Renewed Focus on Northern Europe

U.S. Leading NATO Maritime Group Amid Renewed Focus on Northern Europe

Standing NATO Maritime Group One flagship USS Gravely (DDG 107) leads 11 naval ships from nine nations in close formation during a Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) 2019 exercise on June 16, 2019. US Navy photo.

ABOARD USS GRAVELY, IN THE BALTIC SEA — The U.S. Navy is leading a decades-old NATO maritime group, serving as a first-responder force in northern European waters and building interoperability among NATO allies while also re-learning lessons for the U.S. Navy about operating in that region. Read More