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Astute-class nuclear submarine HMS Ambush. UK Royal Navy Photo
A U.K. Astute-class nuclear attack submarine struck a merchant vessel near Gibraltar on Wednesday at about 1:30 P.M. local time, the Royal Navy said in a statement. Read More
UK Royal Navy’s HMS Vanguard “vents off” as she leaves HMNB Clyde in Scotland in 2012. UK MoD Photo
The U.K. House of Commons approved a measure to renew the Royal Navy’s Trident nuclear weapons program and continue funding for four planned Successor-class ballistic nuclear submarines (SSBN). Read More
HMS Ocean underway. Royal Navy Photo
The U.K. Royal Navy flagship — the amphibious assault ship HMS Ocean (L12) — is slated for scraping in 2018, the U.K. Ministry of Defence confirmed this week. Read More
A P-8A Poseidon aircraft departs Boeing Field in Seattle for Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Fla. on Nov. 20, 2014. US Navy Photo
CORRECTION: A previous version of this post stated the incorrect number of planned Type 26 frigates for the Royal Navy. The U.K. anticipates building eight of the new ship class, not five.
LONDON — Five years after a cash-strapped Great Britain retired the last of its Hawker Siddeley Nimrod MR2 maritime patrol aircraft from frontline duty, Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday announced a belated replacement for the vital capability—in the shape of nine Boeing P-8 Poseidon aircraft. Read More
The following is the 2015 U.K. National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review — the country’s guiding defense planning document into 2025 — published on Nov. 23, 2015 by the U.K. Ministry of Defence. Read More
An artist’s conception of the U.K.’s Successor-class future planned ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) released Tuesday. UK Ministry of Defense Photo
LONDON — The British government has decided to replace the Royal Navy’s four Vanguard-class ballistic nuclear missile submarines (SSBN) with new boats on a one-for-one basis. Read More
An artist’s conception of BAE System’s Type 26 Global Combat Ship. BAE Image
The Royal Navy revealed more information about the design and capabilities of its new Global Combat Ship Type 26 frigate at the Defence and Security Equipment International exhibition in London. Read More
An artist’s rendering of the future HMS Queen Elizabeth carrier. Royal Navy Image
LONDON — The U.S. Marine Corps will deploy its Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II strike fighters on combat sorties from Britain’s new Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers, a senior U.K. Royal Navy officer has confirmed. Read More
Screen grab of the ship’s bell of HMS Hood plucked from the ocean floor on Aug 7, 2015.
In May 1941, the British battlecruiser HMS Hood chased down the German battleship Bismarck in an attempt to protect the flow of American supplies to Great Britain. Within 15 minutes of firing its first shot, Hood was hit, exploded and sank to the bottom of the Denmark Strait, taking with it 1,415 of its 1,418 crew members.
On Friday, after sitting on the ocean floor for 74 years, Hood’s bell was recovered by a research team led by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. Read More
INS Viraat on its 50th anniversary in 2009. Indian Navy Photo
The oldest active aircraft carrier in the world will be converted into a docked museum when the ship, now in the Indian Navy, decommissions next year. Read More
