Detecting and destroying submarines will always be a demanding task. By far the best solution for surface ships to destroy enemy submarines is using a helicopter but aircraft cannot fly in all weathers and must undergo maintenance. Warships hunting submarines need every possible tool at their disposal and here we look at what the options are when the helicopter is unavailable.
2017 was an especially bad year for fatal naval accidents. Then last week the Norwegian frigate KNM Helge Ingstad collided with an oil tanker and is was run onto rocks in a vain attempt to prevent her sinking. There have always been serious accidents involving warships and submarines during peacetime operations but with the advent of modern navigation technologies, there is some surprise that these incidents keep happening. Here we look briefly at the circumstances of some of the accidents and what might be learned from them.More
Today the USS Harry S Truman, flagship of US Navy’s Carrier Strike Group 8 came to anchor in the Solent off Gosport for a 5-day visit. We went on board and were able to speak with senior officers about their mission and relationship with the Royal Navy.More
HMS Queen Elizabeth arrived at Naval Sation Mayport, Florida 5th September for what was intended to be a brief visit. The arrival of Hurricane Florence in the Eastern Atlantic resulted in a considerable change to the programme and she remained in Mayport until the 13th September.
For the first time in a decade, a Royal Navy submarine has operated under the Arctic ice. HMS Trenchant surfaced in the Beaufort Sea this week, joining two US Navy boats exercising submarine warfare skills under the polar ice cap.
The arrival of the USS George HW Bush in British waters to participate in exercise Saxon Warrior with the Royal Navy provided a useful opportunity to meet US naval aviators who have recently completed combat missions against ISIS in the Middle East. Although they are very different, inevitable comparisons will also be made between the Nimitz class CVN and the Queen Elizabeth class CVF, which deserve to be put in perspective.More
The USS George HW Bush deployed from the United States in January and has been in the Arabian Gulf and Mediterranean conducting strikes against ISIS in Syria and Iraq. The Bush is arguably the most potent warship afloat in the world today and her visit to UK waters is very significant for the RN and US relations with Europe. Unlike the 65,000 ton HMS Queen Elizabeth, at 100,000 tons, the Bush is too large to enter Portsmouth and on her arrival in the Solent on 27th July, she anchored in Stokes Bay before hosting media and a VIP evening reception.More