Portrait of an active fleet – the Royal Navy in the last 7 days
In the past few years, the mainstream media and assorted critics have taken great delight in reporting how the Royal Navy fleet is “broken down”, “stuck in port” or has somehow been relegated to “a coastal defence force”. A snapshot of the fleet in early February 2018 shows that despite its many problems, the RN currently has vessels deployed in most of the world’s oceans.
The RN may be threadbare by its historical standards but it is worth remembering that only the US, and possibly the Chinese, navy exceed this level of activity. Each vessel and unit deployed represents a very long logistic chain of people conducting planning, training, maintenance etc and there is a complex balancing act involved. The RN leadership attracts criticism from many quarters but the level of impact being achieved, given its severely constrained manpower and funding reflects well on its management. Activity in itself is not the only measurement of naval strength and does not hide serious weaknesses in the fleet, but it does show the RN getting the best from the resources it has. Next time a larger than usual number of ships are alongside for Christmas or Summer leave periods, it would be helpful to remember what the RN is able to deliver for the majority of the time. This photo essay is far from exhaustive but attempts to show some of the activity of the RN in the past 7 days.
INDIAN OCEAN / PACIFIC. HMS Sutherland visited The British Island Territory of Diego Garcia last week, the first stop on her tour of the Pacific region. She is now on her way to Australia. A single warship has limited military significance but her presence is useful for defence diplomacy, reinforcing friendships with our allies and a reminder to adversaries how far the RN can reach.BLACK SEA. SNMG2 Flagship HMS Duncan prepares to berth ahead of HMS Enterprise in Constanta, Romania. The RN has increased its participation in NATO groups in recent years, this is Duncan’s second spell as SNMG2 flagship in the past 12 months. When relieved by HMS Albion, she will deploy to the Gulf region. Duncan is currently visiting Varna, Bulgaria (Photo: NATO MARCOM)BLACK SEA. Romanian minesweeper ROS Lt. Lupu Dinescu prepares to raft up with SNMCG2 (Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 2) flagship HMS Enterprise. (Photo: NATO MARCOM)ADRIATIC SEA: HMS Echo visited the Port of Bar, Montenegro, she is currently assigned to the EUNAVFOR operation SOPHIA migration patrols. ( image @defence_mne )ATLANTIC / MEDITERRANEAN. RFA Wave Knight delivered a large quantity of fuel oil to Gibraltar ahead of the arrival of HMS Queen Elizabeth. The carrier is not yet ready to conduct replenishment at sea. (Photo: David Sanchez / @86_dmjs)ATLANTIC / MEDITERRANEAN. HMS Somerset provided escort for HMS Queen Elizabeth when she visited Gibraltar 9th-12th FebruaryMEDITERRANEAN. HMS Albion departs Gibraltar after brief visit to transfer stores and personnel. She is on her way to relieve HMS Duncan as flagship of SNMG 2. (Photo: @hms_albion)ATLANTIC / MEDITERRANEAN. Although not yet a fully operational warship, HMS Queen Elizabeth attracted much attention as she made her first overseas visit to Gibraltar. The “aircraft carrier with no aircraft” has 6 helicopters on board and has now headed out into the Atlantic for several weeks of flying trials in challenging weather. (Photo: @Robert1969Rob )NORWAY. Commander Bond RN, CO 845 Naval Air Squadron on the insertion yomp during the Cold Weather Survival Course (CWSC) as part of Ex Nordic Eagle, held around Bardufoss.
NORWAY. Merlin Mk3A of 845 NAS supporting exercise Nordic Eagle.ATLANTIC. Towed Array sonar frigate HMS Westminster has been operating in the waters around Northern Scotland as the assigned Fleet Ready Escort. Surveillance above and below the waves is a vital task that has to be conducted in all weathers. There are sometimes two or more RN frigates performing this increasingly important role, which is every bit as important as overseas deployments. HMS Montrose has also been deployed in northern waters, visiting Stavanger and using the NATO weapon and sensor range in Norway.NORTH SEA. HMS Mersey returns to Portsmouth Naval Base on 12th Feb after a successful patrol of UK waters protecting our fish stocks. (image: @CaptainMFP )BALTIC. HMS Cattistock is serving with NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1 and visited Oslo, Norway this weekend.ARABIAN SEA. RFA Cardigan Bay is permanently deployed in the Gulf region, based in Bahrain and supporting coalition warships including the 4 RN minehunters; currently HMS Blyth, HMS Ledbury, HMS Bangor and HMS Middleton. (Photo @HMSBangor)ARABIAN SEA. RFA Fort Rosalie conducting a replenishment at sea with USNS Matthew Perry, part of the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group (CSG-9) on operation Inherent Resolve – the fight against ISIS. ASaC Sea Kings from 849 Naval Air Squadron, flying from RFA Fort Rosalie also provide airborne surveillance in the region.CARRIBEAN SEA. RFA Mounts Bay remains on a long deployment in the Caribbean region, currently visiting Bridgetown, Barbados.ENGLISH CHANNEL. RFA Tidespring conducts RAS with Norwegian frigate Helge Ingstad during Operational Sea Training in the SW exercise areas last week. The 4 Tide-class tankers are at various stages on their way to join the fleet and will give the RN the largest number of support ships possessed by any European navy, by a considerable margin. The strength of the RFA is foundational to the RN’s ability to operate around the globe. (Photo: @matt_bromage)SOUTH ATLANTIC. HMS Clyde is permanently assigned to the Falkland Islands as guardship.ANTARCTICA. HMS Protector delivers supplies and equipment to the British Antarctic Survey base at Rothera Research Station on the Antarctic Peninsula at the end of January. She continues to support the BAS, currently, she is in the Weddell Sea.At least 2 Astute or Trafalgar class submarines are probably at sea right nowThis is the Vanguard class submarine currently on patrol and carrying the nation’s nuclear deterrent.
your opening paragraphs are a very fair assessment … the photos are a timely reminder how the Royal Navy, despite many challenges are able to deploy in a wide range of roles and tasks. Well done to all that serve and thank you to STRN for bringing this to our attention.
Yeah right, that is obviously the problem, well done.
Mike
7 years ago
In the finest traditions of the service.
Steve
7 years ago
Wow! I take my hat off to the RN crew, who despite increasingly hard-hitting cuts, still perform and maintain the highest traditions of the Service. Makes you very proud to be British, when you see the fine ships that we have sailing around the globe!
Leigh
7 years ago
Hi guys
Do my eyes decieve me or is HMS Somerset missing her 8 x Harpoon forward of the bridge? Either way, yet again, the RN are doing an outstanding job, despite the massive limitations that have been directly and indirectly applied by our pathetic political classes.
Dylan it’s not retired, it’s been extended to 2020 mate.
Rick
7 years ago
Question for Navy Lookout. Why are the Bay Class ships in the R.F.A? Are they not warships with a combat role. Seems to me that is R.N. territory. Please explain this to us who are not ex-R.N.
railways
7 years ago
Thanks for this post, it has been extremely helpful for my AIB preparation!
Surfglobe
7 years ago
The RFA ships are not Royal Navy we are civilian maned ships
Hello Surfglobe, yes I know the RFA is civilian manned. Isn’t it the role of the RFA to replenish Royal Navy ships? The Bay Class appear to be warships and therefor should be H.M.S. I’m not trying to be disrespectful I’m just trying to understand why these ships are not part of the Navy. Just wondering what the logical reason is.
RFAs ships are constructed to merchant ship standards, civilian manned and usually more lightly armed than warships. The Bay class are auxiliary landing ships designed to provide logistic support to an amphibious assault. (ie. deliver additional stores and equipment to support the RN vessels conducting the main assault). However, as the fleet is ever more stretched, the distinction between the roles of RN and RFAs is becoming increasingly blurred. The Bay class are now used for all kinds of work in addition to their prime role. Eg Cardigan Bay is forward deployed in the Gulf supporting minehunters and Mounts Bay in the Carribean on disaster relief and anti-narcotics patrols.
This article shows a healthy RN taking part in a variety of activities across the world.
There should be no more calls from STRN to increase expenditure. In fact cuts are in order. We don’t need ships in the Arabian Sea when the NHS is at breaking point. Priorities, people!
The thing is Ian, if you get out a map and put a finger on the Arabian sea and trace it back to Blighty, you’ll see that it is right on a SLOC (“sea line of control”) for the transport of Hydrocarbons from the middle East, and finished goods from Asia, back to the UK. Disruption in the Arabian sea could cause problems for us.
Those problems could cause an economic contraction in the UK, reducing the tax take, and causing a reduction in funding to the NHS. I think it’s reasonable for the world’s fifth largest economy modestly to increase its “insurance policy” against all of the instability in this part of the world, don’t you?
The article shows the RN can do a great balancing act, making the best of what it has but is it is still weak and hollowed out. UK defence spending has fallen dramatically and dangerously in last decade – take a look at these figures.
This is largely about the poor decisions and control of our elected leaders. This in turn stems from the myopic MSM and lack of positive vision at many levels of society. I think the services have been taken for granted.
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your opening paragraphs are a very fair assessment … the photos are a timely reminder how the Royal Navy, despite many challenges are able to deploy in a wide range of roles and tasks. Well done to all that serve and thank you to STRN for bringing this to our attention.
One ship can only be in one place at one time. Less ships, less presence
I think you meant Feb 2018 ! The Royal Navy doing what it does best around the world.
Apologies. Amended!
All that going on and heaps of ships with no crew sitting in the dockyard.Perhaps the RN has more money than it knows what to do with?
Yeah right, that is obviously the problem, well done.
In the finest traditions of the service.
Wow! I take my hat off to the RN crew, who despite increasingly hard-hitting cuts, still perform and maintain the highest traditions of the Service. Makes you very proud to be British, when you see the fine ships that we have sailing around the globe!
Hi guys
Do my eyes decieve me or is HMS Somerset missing her 8 x Harpoon forward of the bridge? Either way, yet again, the RN are doing an outstanding job, despite the massive limitations that have been directly and indirectly applied by our pathetic political classes.
Harpoon is retired now friend gotta wait till 2020 for sea venom to be equipped but it still has its 4.5 naval gun to defend its self and sea captor
Sorry Dylan, but Harpoon has been given a reprieve until at least 2020.
http://www.janes.com/article/74044/dsei-2017-uk-defers-harpoon-retirement
https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/harpoon-gains-reprieve-decision-retire-anti-ship-missile-deferred/
Dylan it’s not retired, it’s been extended to 2020 mate.
Question for Navy Lookout. Why are the Bay Class ships in the R.F.A? Are they not warships with a combat role. Seems to me that is R.N. territory. Please explain this to us who are not ex-R.N.
Thanks for this post, it has been extremely helpful for my AIB preparation!
The RFA ships are not Royal Navy we are civilian maned ships
Hello Surfglobe, yes I know the RFA is civilian manned. Isn’t it the role of the RFA to replenish Royal Navy ships? The Bay Class appear to be warships and therefor should be H.M.S.
I’m not trying to be disrespectful I’m just trying to understand why these ships are not part of the Navy. Just wondering what the logical reason is.
RFAs ships are constructed to merchant ship standards, civilian manned and usually more lightly armed than warships. The Bay class are auxiliary landing ships designed to provide logistic support to an amphibious assault. (ie. deliver additional stores and equipment to support the RN vessels conducting the main assault). However, as the fleet is ever more stretched, the distinction between the roles of RN and RFAs is becoming increasingly blurred. The Bay class are now used for all kinds of work in addition to their prime role. Eg Cardigan Bay is forward deployed in the Gulf supporting minehunters and Mounts Bay in the Carribean on disaster relief and anti-narcotics patrols.
Thank you for clarifing
This article shows a healthy RN taking part in a variety of activities across the world.
There should be no more calls from STRN to increase expenditure. In fact cuts are in order. We don’t need ships in the Arabian Sea when the NHS is at breaking point. Priorities, people!
The thing is Ian, if you get out a map and put a finger on the Arabian sea and trace it back to Blighty, you’ll see that it is right on a SLOC (“sea line of control”) for the transport of Hydrocarbons from the middle East, and finished goods from Asia, back to the UK. Disruption in the Arabian sea could cause problems for us.
Those problems could cause an economic contraction in the UK, reducing the tax take, and causing a reduction in funding to the NHS. I think it’s reasonable for the world’s fifth largest economy modestly to increase its “insurance policy” against all of the instability in this part of the world, don’t you?
The article shows the RN can do a great balancing act, making the best of what it has but is it is still weak and hollowed out. UK defence spending has fallen dramatically and dangerously in last decade – take a look at these figures.
Military spending change between 2007 and 2016.
China: +118%
Russia: +87%
India: +54%
South Korea: +35%
Saudi Arabia: +20%
Germany: +6.8%
France: +2.8%
Japan: +2.5%
US: -4.8%
UK: -12%
This is largely about the poor decisions and control of our elected leaders. This in turn stems from
the myopic MSM and lack of positive vision at many levels of society. I think the services have been taken for granted.
Germany and Japan from a very low base of course.
I am more worried about the proportion of defence spending soaked up by the MOD an non-essential ancillary activities.
Is there always at least one CVF berthed at Portsmouth?