HMS Queen Elizabeth sailed on 8th September to lead the RN’s first major carrier strike group deployment since 2021. Known as operation FIREDRAKE, the group will undertake of a series of exercises in northern European waters working closely with JEF and NATO partner nations.
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In a pioneering flight on 4th September, a cargo drone flew from Cornwall out to HMS Prince of Wales, delivered supplies, took off again and returned to the airfield.
In this article, we provide an inside view on the saga that has delayed Type 23 frigate HMS Somerset rejoining the fleet following her life extension refit.
Through open-source observations, it is clear that none of the Royal Navy’s six commissioned SSNs are at sea at the time of writing. As part of normal maintenance cycles several boats could be expected to be in harbour but it is unusual for the entire force to be alongside.
The flow of migrant boats crossing the English Channel has led to daily rants on social media demanding we “send in the Royal Navy to defend our borders”. Here we briefly look at why using the navy this way is impractical, wasteful and has already proven to be largely pointless.
Conversion work on RFA Proteus is now in its eighth month and she is still in the shipyard. This former commercial vessel will become the UK’s first Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance (MROS) ship. She was purchased in response to the growing threats to critical subsea infrastructure and was expected to be operational by now.
HMS Albion returned to Devonport last week after another highly successful deployment and will now go into a state of reduced readiness. Unfortunately, this will leave the RN temporarily without its primary amphibious platform as her sister ship, HMS Bulwark will not be ready to replace her until next year.
Amid some adverse comment questioning why the Royal Navy sending one of its few high-end air defence platforms to the region, HMS Dauntless is about to begin operations in the Caribbean. Here we outline the sound reasons for this unusual deployment.
In a Parliamentary answer, it was revealed this week that the RN’s Wildcat helicopter will not be certified to launch the Sea Venom missile until 2026.