RFA Tidespring arrived on the Mersey on 8th February to begin her first docking. She is the first vessel in the RFA fleet to undergo maintenance as part of the Future In-Service Support (FISS) contracts awarded in October 2018.More
Yesterday the chairman of the House of Commons Defence Committee (HCDC), Julian Lewis sent a strongly-worded letter to the Minister of State for Defence Procurement, Stuart Andrew demanding clarification as to why the Fleet Solid Support Ships (FSS) are being classified as “non-combatants”. Pressure is mounting on the government to build these ships, that will be vital to supporting RN global operations, in the UK.
At one time British shipbuilding dominated the world. As late as the 1950s, a quarter of all ships sailing the seven seas were built in Britain. Now, sixty years later, that figure is less than 1%. In this guest article, Will Green argues greater government intervention could improve this situation.
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The two fleet tankers, RFA Wave Knight and Wave Ruler joined Royal Fleet Auxiliary in 2003. They have already had varied careers both supporting the RN and operating independently, In this article we examine their construction, design and service history.
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In broad terms, 2018 was a positive year for the naval service, in many ways an improvement on 2017. The navy has been able to deliver a higher operational tempo than last year and despite initial indications to the contrary, has escaped further cuts. More
It’s early days in the construction of the first ‘city class’ Type 26 frigate, HMS Glasgow. Here we take an overview of her manufacture and the Clyde shipyards where she is being built.
Significant investment in computer technology has been made to support the detailed design and production of the Type 26 frigate. Computer-Aided Design (CAD) systems have been in use for many years but Virtual Reality software is now core to the design process.More
Earlier this week our embattled Prime Minister, speaking at the Lord Mayor’s banquet in the capital announced the 8th and final Type 26 frigate will bear the name HMS London. The government may be desperate for some good news stories, but this is scraping the bottom of the PR barrel. The MoD is unable to say when she will be ordered or even approximately which year she will be in service. Projecting from the current glacial rate of construction, this ship could be at least 18 years away from joining the fleet.More
Unable to follow up their success building OPVs for export, and with no other orders forthcoming, last week Babcock made the sad announcement that the Appledore shipyard will close in March 2019. Here we examine the background and potential impacts of this decision.
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