BAE Systems has self-funded the development of HERNE – an Extra-Large Uncrewed Autonomous Vehicle (XLUAV). Here we take a detailed look at this adaptable submarine platform intended for a variety of undersea naval missions.
On 20th November the government announced that it would be decommissioning 5 more ships. Here we look in detail at the context and future impacts of these choices.
NavyX sits within the RN’s Develop Directorate and is responsible for testing and trialling new technology with them aim of delivering new capabilities to the fleet faster than by traditional routes. Here we take an overview of NavyX’s work.
It has emerged that the RN plans to acquire up to three ‘survivable, non-complex warships’ designed from the outset to be motherships for autonomous mine-hunting boats.
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There have been a swathe of negative news stories about the RN in the last 6 months and received wisdom is that the Navy is in terrible shape. While facing enormous challenges, the outlook is not all bleak and here we highlight some reasons to believe the RN is still a very credible fighting force.
In March 2022 the National Shipbuilding Strategy refresh was published. Two years on, we consider how realistic this looks and the issues that will influence the future surface fleet.
In late 2023 an aerial target was destroyed during a successful test firing of the UK’s DragonFire Laser Directed Energy Weapon (LDEW) technology demonstrator. Here we look at DragonFire and the possibility of operational derivatives.
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Here we look at how the RN is developing its vision for fighting in the increasingly contested undersea domain in the next two decades.
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In answer to a recent Parliamentary question, Defence Minister James Cartlidge said that: “on current plans, the last Type 45 Destroyer will retire from service by the end of 2038”. In this short piece, we consider the reasons to be highly sceptical about this schedule.
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