Like every aspect of life in the UK, the industry that supports the Royal Navy has been impacted by the effects of COVID-19. We spoke to BAE Systems, the Ministry of Defence’s largest supplier, about how they have adapted to the new conditions.
This week two of the RN’s 32-year old P2000 patrol boats were loaded onto a ship for delivery to Gibraltar. They will replace the existing Gibraltar Squadron patrol boats, HMS Scimitar and HMS Sabre, pending the delivery of brand new vessels.More
Babcock announced this week that MTU has been selected to supply the main engines and generator sets for the Type 31 frigate.
HMS Kent is currently operating in the Barents Sea with US Navy warships conducting maritime security operations. This is a significant deployment as officially the US Navy says it has not sent surface ships to the area since the mid-1980s.More
This evening HMS Dauntless sailed from Portsmouth, heading to Birkenhead. She will arrive on Merseyside on Tuesday morning and be the first Type 45 to undergo work to cure the propulsion problems that have plagued these ships.More
(UPDATED) HMS Queen Elizabeth will leave Portsmouth for another period of training next week but it was announced on 23rd April that her departure will be delayed by a few days while the entire ship’s company is tested for COVID-19. At a time when aircraft carriers in other navies have experienced widespread infection amongst their crews, we look at the rationale for sailing and the measures taken by the RN to mitigate risks to its personnel.
This collection of short videos shows how helicopters of the Royal Navy are being deployed in various ways to assist in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
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RFA Argus sailed from Plymouth this afternoon on a long-planned deployment to the Caribbean. Equipped with a 100-bed medical facility she may be called upon to assist British Overseas Territories dealing with the COVID-19 outbreak. French, and possibly Dutch vessels are also being sent to the region to support their territories. Co-ordination between the naval forces is likely but this is not a formal joint, EU or NATO operation.
As the global coronavirus pandemic has begun to impact all aspects of life in the UK, this is a brief update on how the RN is responding to the crisis.