News Commentaries

March 11, 2020

Type 45 destroyer availability improving

Poor availability of the Type 45 destroyers has been a source of frustration for the navy and attracted plenty of negative, and often ill-informed media coverage over the last decade. Measures to remedy the complex issues have been on-going for several years and there are now real signs of progress. The Defence Secretary has announced that from 2021, four of the six ships will be available for tasking and the varying levels of readiness will continue to improve.

News Commentaries

November 17, 2019

Up close with HMS Prince of Wales as the Royal Navy’s second aircraft carrier arrives in Portsmouth

On 16th November the second of the Royal Navy’s aircraft carriers, HMS Prince of Wales entered her home port for the first time. We witnessed the ship’s arrival and went on board to find out more about her progress and future programme.
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News Commentaries

November 6, 2019

Why has the Royal Navy’s Fleet Solid Support Ship competition been suspended?

In a surprise move, the MoD confirmed yesterday that it has suspended the international tender process for up to 3 Fleet Solid Support (FSS) ships to be built for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. Here we consider the context and possible reasons for this decision.More

News Commentaries

October 23, 2019

Delivery of HMS Audacious to the Royal Navy delayed by another 17 months

On 16th October the head of the MoD Stephen Lovegrove formally approved a revised schedule for the delivery of the 4th Astute class submarine HMS Audacious. Writing to the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee he admitted publicly for the first time that Audacious will not be handed over to the RN until January 2021.More

News Commentaries

September 19, 2019

The Royal Navy becomes a two-carrier navy – HMS Prince of Wales sails for the first time

Today the second of the Royal Navy’s new aircraft carriers, HMS Prince of Wales left the dockyard in Rosyth for the first time. The word “milestone” has been used excessively to describe important moments the carrier project but today is another big step forward for a ship that many expected never to see service with the RN.More

News Commentaries

September 12, 2019

Babcock Arrowhead 140 wins the Type 31e frigate competition

Today at in London the Prime Minister will confirm that the Babcock Arrowhead 140 design had been selected as the winner of the Royal Navy’s Type 31e frigate competition.

News Commentaries

September 10, 2019

Is the Type 31e frigate competition winner about to be announced?

It has been widely expected that the preferred bidder for the Type 31e frigate programme for the RN will be officially named at DSEI in London this week. Industry representatives are unsure if, and exactly when the announcement will be made with contradictory rumours abounding.
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News Commentaries

August 30, 2019

HMS Queen Elizabeth sails for the US where she will embark UK-owned Jets for the first time

HMS Queen Elizabeth sails from Portsmouth today for the Westlant19 deployment, taking another step towards achieving full operational capability. Here we look in some detail at the plans for her trip to the US and her future programme.More

News Commentaries

August 26, 2019

Exploring innovative future concepts for the Royal Marines

Young engineering graduates from across the UK defence industry have been working with the Royal Marines to develop new solutions for the challenges of future commando and amphibious operations. Some of the concepts may appear to be science fiction fantasies but it is important for the Corps to explore every possibility as it seeks to develop and innovate.
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