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
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
Royal Marine sniper in front of HMS Sutherland’s helicopter on Jan. 7, 2019. UK MoD Photo
LONDON — The retirement last year of the Royal Navy’s biggest assault ship – the helicopter carrier HMS Ocean – was accompanied by dire warnings in the British press of the imminent demise of the country’s entire amphibious warfighting capability. Read More
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
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
PORTSMOUTH, U.K. — On June 5, 1944, an armada of over 1213 warships set out to escort 4126 landing craft and 864 merchant ships across the storm-tossed waters of the English Channel in the largest ever amphibious landing in history. Read More
A Mexifloat from RFA Mounts Bay on its way to Grand Tuck with Heavy Plant for use in the rebuild after the hurricane in 2017. UK Royal Navy Photo
ABOARD ROYAL FLEET AUXILIARY SHIP MOUNTS BAY — One of three British Bay-class landing ships has spent nearly two years in the Western Atlantic and the Caribbean Sea, both looking after British interests as well as finding ways to partner with the U.S. Navy. Read More
Sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) 2 man a combat rubber raiding craft while underway with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary landing ship dock Mounts Bay during a mine countermeasures (MCM) task group experiment. US Navy Photo
NAVAL STATION NORFOLK, ABOARD RFA MOUNTS BAY – The Navy’s mine countermeasures community brought all three legs of its triad together for a single experiment – aboard an allied ship – to see how well they could combine their gear and people to tackle a common threat. Read More
Vice Adm. Tony Radakin. Royal Navy Photo
LONDON — A Royal Navy officer who lead U.S./U.K. efforts to rebuild the Iraqi navy following the 2003 invasion is to be appointed to the top job in Britain’s ‘senior service.’ Read More
Two F-35B Lightning II fighter successfully landed onboard HMS Queen Elizabeth on Sept. 25, 2018. Lockheed Martin Photo
The U.K. will remain committed to NATO and to being a high-end defense partner even after it withdraws from the European Union in March, the British defense acquisition chief predicted on Tuesday. Read More
