Between the 26th of July and 1st of August, the UK-led Carrier Strike Group sailed north through the South China Sea. Details of what transpired during that week are limited but here we assess what is in the public domain.
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The programme to restore UK maritime patrol aircraft capability reached another milestone on 22nd July with the first weapon release from a British MRA1 Poseidon. The ability to both detect submarine targets and deliver torpedoes without warning at long ranges is one of the key advantages of the aircraft.
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Maritime historian, Dr Paul Brown recently published Abandon Ship described as “The real story of the sinkings in the Falklands War”. This is an engaging, if rather an uncomfortable book, based more on written and documentary evidence than personal experiences which informs much of the Falklands conflict literature.
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In this photo essay, we cover the journey of the Carrier Strike Group as it passed through the Suez Canal heading east, taking a mostly direct route and arriving in the South China Sea less than three weeks later.
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The Defence Command Paper published in the wake of the March 2021 Integrated Review promised: “more than £50m will be spent converting a Bay class support ship to deliver a more agile and lethal littoral strike capability”. Here we take a speculative look at the options for the conversion.
Here we summarise recent news and developments concerning the Royal Navy’s future frigate programmes. More
AEUK has sub-contracted the construction of three SEA-class Passenger Transfer Boats (PTB) that will equip HMS Prince of Wales to Diverse Marine, based in Cowes on the Isle of Wight and the vessels will be delivered to the RN later this year.
It has emerged that one of the two Type 45 destroyers accompanying the Carrier Strike Group, HMS Diamond has suffered a defect and remains alongside in a Mediterranean port, having not transited the Suez Canal with the rest of the ships.
In an encouraging statement to Parliament this week, it was revealed that the Type 26 frigates will be equipped with the Future Cruise/Anti-Ship Weapon (FCASW) from 2028. This confirms there has been positive progress with the FCASW project and the RN will be able to field a ship-based land-attack and much-improved anti-shipping capability sooner than expected.