After departing Halifax on 16th September, HMS Queen Elizabeth, HMS Dragon and RFA Tideforce headed south towards the Florida coast and were joined by HMS Northumberland. They exercised off the eastern seaboard of the US before the aircraft carrier arrived at Naval Station Mayport on 4th October.
HMS Queen Elizabeth sailed from Portsmouth on the 30th August in company with RFA Tideforce. After some final operational sea training off the coast of North Cornwall, the ships were joined by HMS Dragon and crossed the Atlantic to Canada. This photo and video essay documents the initial part of the Westlant 19Â deployment.
The Ministry of Defence has announced that HMS Duncan is being sent to join HMS Montrose protecting merchant shipping in the Arabian Gulf. Here we take a look at how events in the Middle East that have placed a spotlight on the strength of Royal Navy.More
Exercise Formidable Shield 2019 (FS19) has been underway off Scotland during the past two weeks. This was a live-fire integrated air and missile defence (IAMD) exercise designed to test NATO warships response to conventional and ballistic missile attacks.
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The first part of the Channel 5 documentary “Warship Life at Sea” has just been broadcast and documents HMS Duncan leading a NATO deployment to the Black Sea in the first half of 2018. There have been several TV documentaries showing life on board RN warships made in the last few years but the latest series offers a rare and close-up view of navy delivering at the operational sharp end.More
Last week HMS Defender was accepted back into the fleet by Commodore Wood, Commander of the Portsmouth Flotilla after successful completion of post-refit sea trials. HMS Defender deployed to the Gulf for nine months in 2015 after which, she entered an 18-month major refit in Portsmouth conducted by BAE Systems.
In a modest ceremony held on board HMS Diamond in Portsmouth today, BAE Systems, BMT Defence Services and Cammell Laird signed a contract with the MoD to deliver the Type 45 Power Improvement Project (PIP). Significant propulsion problems have hampered the operation of the six destroyers since their construction and it is encouraging that a permanent cure has now been agreed upon.More
Today the Times correctly reported that HMS Diamond has had to abort her Gulf deployment and return to home for repairs. The defect concerns the propellor but is not directly related to the engine issues that have been the primary cause of Type 45 destroyer woes. Unfortunately, the problem cannot be rectified by dry docking in Bahrain or Gibraltar and requires the attention of specialists in Portsmouth.More
Although recent news for the Navy has been mostly positive, with HMS Queen Elizabeth at sea and orders placed for the Type 26 frigates, a quick look at the status of the escort fleet reveals the stresses that lack of manpower continues to exert.
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