Type-31 frigate design.
Steel for the U.K. Royal Navy’s first new Type 31 frigate was cut on Sept. 24, raising hopes that the service may secure a larger fleet of frontline warships in the long term. Read More
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
HMS Vigilant (S30). Royal Navy Photo
More than 30 members of the crew of the U.K. Royal Navy ballistic-missile submarine HMS Vigilant (S30) have tested positive for COVID-19 following a port visit to the U.S. Navy’s East Coast SSBN hub, a U.S. official told USNI News. Read More
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
