Royal Navy - Fleet Air Arm: News

£3.6 billion Nimrods dismantled for scrap

Nine brand new Nimrod surveillance aircraft, which cost taxpayers £3.6 billion, will be dismantled and scrapped without ever having flown.

By James Kirkup, Political Correspondent 2:34PM GMT 09 Dec 2010

The MRA4 planes, only one of which has ever left the ground, will be stripped of their equipment and abandoned following Coalition defence cuts.

The decision led to the Nimrods being branded “the world's most expensive pile of scrap metal".

Hundreds of jobs could also be lost, according to BAE Systems, which built the Nimrods.

The Strategic Defence and Security Review in October terminated the £3.6 billion order for new Nimrod MRA4 maritime patrol aircraft.

Other aircraft retired in the defence review – including Harrier jump jets – could be sold intact to foreign countries to recoup some money.

But the MoD has decided that simply scrapping the new Nimrods is the “most cost effective option”.

BAE on Thursday said it had received a formal “contract termination” notice from the MoD, and halted work on the Nimrods at Woodford, Cheshire.

Nimrods, which fly from RAF Kinloss in Scotland, are equipped with long-range surveillance equipment for eavesdropping on communications and detecting movement.

The aircraft can provide vital support for Vanguard submarines carrying Trident nuclear missiles, by detecting Russian hunter-killer subs trying to follow them. Without the Nimrods, Britain is likely to ask the US and France to provide such anti-submarine warfare capabilities in future.

Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope, the head of the Royal Navy has said he is “very uncomfortable” about the situation.

The “disposal” of the new Nimrods was confirmed in a letter from Peter Luff, the defence procurement minister, to Angus Robertson, the Scottish National Party MP who represents Kinloss.

The minister said: “I have considered a range of option for the disposal of the Nimrod MRA4 fleet and concluded that the most cost effective option is for the nine aircraft to be disposed of, following recovery of equipment and systems that can be used elsewhere.

“We estimate that around £2 billion will be saved over the next 10 years by not bringing the aircraft into service.”

BAE confirmed that its staff at Woodford have begun removing electronics and other systems from the Nimrods as a preparation for the MoD’s final disposal of the empty airframes.

Mr Robertson said: “The scrapping of the Nimrod fleet is total folly and a record breaking waste of taxpayer money. Not only are billions of pounds being wasted but there is now a massive military capability gap. These capable aircraft could and should be in service not being cut up for scrap.”

Bernie Hamilton of the Unite trade union, which represents workers at BAE’s Woodford site, said that the MoD decision on Nimrod would

“The airframes will either be parked and left to rust or they will be cut up and sold for scrap. It’s a substantial waste of UK taxpayers’ money.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/defence/8191690/3.6-billion-Nimrods-dismantled-for-scrap.html

Last wings presentation for Navy Sea King MK 4 and Lynx aircrew
30/01/2015

The Fleet Air Arm closed a chapter of its history on Thursday, 29 January as the training pipelines for Royal Navy Sea King Mk 4 and Lynx helicopters came to an end when 6 aircrew received their Wings from His Royal Highness The Duke of York, KG.

During the ceremony at the Royal Naval Air Station (RNAS) Yeovilton, 2 Sea King pilots, 2 Lynx pilots and 2 Lynx observers received their Wings from The Duke who has flown both Sea King and Lynx helicopters during his time as a Fleet Air Arm pilot.

Lieutenant Danielle Welch made history as the first, and last, female pilot to be awarded their Wings at the end of the Lynx course.

The Navy’s Commando Sea Kings are being replaced by the battlefield variant of the Merlin helicopter, and the maritime Lynx is being replaced by the Wildcat Mk2 helicopter.

http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-latest-activity/news/2015/january/30/150130-last-wings-presentation-navy-sea-king-and-lynx

£100m investment in Portsmouth Naval Base confirmed
30/01/2015

On a visit to the home of the Royal Navy, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, announced a new national shipbuilding strategy in advance of a decision later this year on orders for the brand new Type 26 Global Combat Ship.

The Chancellor also announced that these multi-million pound ships will be based at the Navy bases in Portsmouth and Plymouth.

As part of the development of the national shipbuilding strategy, the Chancellor has asked to look at the potential to build a new complex warship every two years.

As well as maximising export opportunities, this will ensure the Royal Navy continues to have the capability it needs to protect our nation’s interests, retaining its status as the most modern Navy in the world.

The strategy will help deliver world class ships for the Royal Navy while ensuring the best value-for-money for the taxpayer.

It will also ensure that the Navy continues to have the capability it needs to protect our nation’s interests and ensure continued investment in UK warship production.

It will help maintain jobs, provide new apprenticeships, and develop advanced engineering skills.

Aircraft-less carriers: No point in new Navy vessel if no jets supplied



Britain cannot afford to launch the second of its new aircraft carriers, HMS Prince of Wales, because of planned cuts in the defense budget . The total cost of operating the aircraft carrier, which includes deploying additional ships to protect it and jets to launch from it, exceed Britain’s projected military spending . The Royal Navy has operated one aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth, since last July. The ship cost £3.1 billion to build, significantly more than was budgeted.

MPs noted the cost of operating HMS Prince of Wales had escalated due to the increasing price of F-35 fighter jets.


http://rt.com/uk/243513-prince-wales-aircraft-carrier/

Thales, BAE to Develop Underwater Countermeasure Prototypes for France, UK

http://blog.executivebiz.com/2015/03/thales-bae-systems-to-develop-underwater-countermeasure-prototypes-for-france-uk/

Thales and BAE Systems will collaborate with their partners in France and in the U.K. to develop an autonomous system intended to detect and counter sea mines and underwater explosive devices.

The team will work to design a system prototype during the contract’s first phase, then manufacture and test the future mine countermeasure systems of both France and the U.K. under contract options, Thales said Friday.

Thales will provide the systems to both the French navy and British navy for two years of tests.

Each system consists of an unmanned surface vehicle, an obstacle detection and avoidance sonar, a threat identification and neutralization capability, a towed synthetic aperture sonar and autonomous underwater vehicles.

BAE Swill provide the mission management system, ASV Ltd. the surface vehicle, ECA Group the underwater unmanned vehicles, Saab the remotely operated vehicles and Wood & Douglas the communications system.

Thales will also supply a portable operations center service to incorporate Thales-BAE command and control tools.

U-drones: Britain to spend £17mn on unmanned underwater vehicles


The UK Ministry of Defense will spend £17 million on a fleet of sea drones after signing a contract with French arms giant Thales.

The drones will be developed with the MoD’s French counterpart, the Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA). The MoD claims the vehicles will be used mainly for mine clearance.

The initiative aims to develop two kinds of unmanned maritime vehicle – a submarine and a surface craft – to meet the operational criteria of both nations.

While headed by Thales, the consortium which will work on the project includes British defense firm BAE.

Philip Dunne, a UK defense minister, said: “The development of unmanned maritime systems is a new and exciting area for both the UK and France.


http://rt.com/uk/245201-sea-drones-mod-contract/

Breaking the Ice:British Sub Suffers $750K in Damage Tracking Russian Ships

The British nuclear submarine HMS Talent suffered an estimated £500,000 (about $750,000 USD) in damage to its tower while tracking Russian vessels in the North Sea, Britain's The Daily Mail has reported.

The 5,300 ton, 130-man vessel suffered a dent to the top of its tower; defense officials stated that the ship appears to have struck a patch of floating ice. Defense officials denied that the sub may have struck a Russian submarine it was tracking.

An unnamed Royal Navy source is said to have told The Daily Mail that "striking ice is a problem of the environment we work in. Some patches of ice show up on our scanners but not all, with the density of the ice also being a factor. On this occasion some damage was sustained by the HMS Talent."

The newspaper explained that the impact had damaged the sub's outer layer of acoustic tiles, which are designed to minimize the transmission of sound waves under water.

Russian social media users were quick to comment on the affair:

"The HMS Talent suffered damage to its tower in a collision with a patch of ice. The commander of the 'patch of ice' and her crew have been awarded."

"Chasing Russian ships, the HMS Talent seriously damaged its tower on an ice floe."

The Daily Mail notes that the old 'struck by ice' excuse had been used before, during the Cold War. The paper recalled a 1981 collision between the nuclear-powered HMS Sceptre and the Soviet nuclear ballistic missile sub K-211, and that the British vessel's crew had been instructed to say that they had hit an iceberg, not a Soviet vessel.

The six foot-wide dent in the top of the tower put the Royal Navy ship out of action for several months. The incident is said to have occurred last year, with the sub photographed arriving at the Submarine Refit Complex in Devonport last month. The Daily Mail explained that the incident was not reported earlier due to the "activity of Britain's fleet of nuclear submarines [being] strictly classified."

Britain has been engaged in a game of tag with Russian ships and aircraft patrolling the North Sea over the past year, reporting a dramatic increase in tracking activity. For their part, Russian officials have stated that Russian air and naval patrols in the North Sea are routine, and are carried out in compliance with international legal norms.

The HMS Talent is a hunter-killer nuclear submarine, launched in 1988, and fitted with Tomahawk cruise missiles and advanced tracking equipment.

Update: Asked to comment on the Daily Mail's story about the submarine by Russian media, a British Ministry of Defense spokesman noted that the accident did not lead to the vessel being put out of commission, adding that while the Ministry does not know "where journalists found their information, it hardly corresponds with reality."

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/europe/20150405/1020492988.html#ixzz3WTb2C2Da

George1 wrote:Breaking the Ice:British Sub Suffers $750K in Damage Tracking Russian Ships

The British nuclear submarine HMS Talent suffered an estimated £500,000 (about $750,000 USD) in damage to its tower while tracking Russian vessels in the North Sea, Britain's The Daily Mail has reported.

The 5,300 ton, 130-man vessel suffered a dent to the top of its tower; defense officials stated that the ship appears to have struck a patch of floating ice. Defense officials denied that the sub may have struck a Russian submarine it was tracking.

An unnamed Royal Navy source is said to have told The Daily Mail that "striking ice is a problem of the environment we work in. Some patches of ice show up on our scanners but not all, with the density of the ice also being a factor. On this occasion some damage was sustained by the HMS Talent."

The newspaper explained that the impact had damaged the sub's outer layer of acoustic tiles, which are designed to minimize the transmission of sound waves under water.

Russian social media users were quick to comment on the affair:

"The HMS Talent suffered damage to its tower in a collision with a patch of ice. The commander of the 'patch of ice' and her crew have been awarded."

"Chasing Russian ships, the HMS Talent seriously damaged its tower on an ice floe."

The Daily Mail notes that the old 'struck by ice' excuse had been used before, during the Cold War. The paper recalled a 1981 collision between the nuclear-powered HMS Sceptre and the Soviet nuclear ballistic missile sub K-211, and that the British vessel's crew had been instructed to say that they had hit an iceberg, not a Soviet vessel.

The six foot-wide dent in the top of the tower put the Royal Navy ship out of action for several months. The incident is said to have occurred last year, with the sub photographed arriving at the Submarine Refit Complex in Devonport last month. The Daily Mail explained that the incident was not reported earlier due to the "activity of Britain's fleet of nuclear submarines [being] strictly classified."

Britain has been engaged in a game of tag with Russian ships and aircraft patrolling the North Sea over the past year, reporting a dramatic increase in tracking activity. For their part, Russian officials have stated that Russian air and naval patrols in the North Sea are routine, and are carried out in compliance with international legal norms.

The HMS Talent is a hunter-killer nuclear submarine, launched in 1988, and fitted with Tomahawk cruise missiles and advanced tracking equipment.

Update: Asked to comment on the Daily Mail's story about the submarine by Russian media, a British Ministry of Defense spokesman noted that the accident did not lead to the vessel being put out of commission, adding that while the Ministry does not know "where journalists found their information, it hardly corresponds with reality."

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/europe/20150405/1020492988.html#ixzz3WTb2C2Da

Not surprising, the British military is the very definition of mediocrity...

i have updated that George1 already in royal Navy News thread . Double posting

HMS Prince of Wales takes her bow
22/05/2015

The forward section of Britain’s biggest future warship is now outwardly complete after engineers successfully attached the final part of HMS Prince of Wales’ bow.

After some exact calculations to get the centre of gravity spot on, the 620-tonne block was raised by the enormous Goliath crane which dominates the north bank of the Forth and then put down on its final position on the front of the ship in the dry dock.

The upper bow has been constructed in four huge sections, all built at the Appledore yard in Devon, then shipped to Rosyth, where Prince of Wales is taking shape in the same enlarged dry dock where her older sister Queen Elizabeth was pieced together.

Lifting the second ship’s upper bow segment into place comes just days after the forward island – home, among some 100 compartments, to the carrier’s bridge – was also fixed into position on the flight deck.

http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-latest-activity/news/2015/may/22/150522-hms-prince-of-wales-takes-her-bow

Trident Missiles unsecure, easier to access than most nightclubs:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ODuj2Be34s

http://rt.com/news/262997-trident-uk-security-wikileaks/

Honestly, who the hell do these guys actually think they are? And how long exactly are they expecting to last in a full-scale war with Russia? What a total farce.

Two electricians accidentally sealed inside nuclear submarine
By Agency9:20AM BST 22 Jul 2015

Two workers were accidentally entombed inside the ballast tank of a nuclear submarine, it has emerged.

A pair of workers were sealed inside the ballast tank of a nuclear submarine in Plymouth and had to bang on the hull with a drill to raise attention.
The electricians who had been inspecting sonar equipment finally managed to get a weak signal on a mobile phone and get help to set them free.

The incident at Devonport Naval Base in Plymouth which saw the men accidentally sealed in by colleagues has been described as "extremely unpleasant".

The two were working on a submarine when it was in dry dock last December when a seal was placed over the hatch they were using.

A report reads: "In an attempt to raise the alarm they used the only thing they had to hand - a battery powered drill to hammer against the tank boundary but to no avail.

"There was no-one in the dock bottom to hear them.

"They switched on their mobile phones but there was no signal at the bottom of the tank so they progressively climbed to the upper reaches of the tank until fortunately one phone managed to get a one bar signal."

The men were trapped for 20 minutes and were said to be "shaken but unhurt".

A spokesman for the union Unite said: "We feel for the men involved and what they had to go through because it must have been an extremely unpleasant situation.

"The incident was actually caused by poor management and poor communication.
"We are disappointed it was not in line with Babcock's normal standards."

Babcock said it was "continually focused on delivering and maintaining the highest standards of safety procedures and practices".
It said an internal investigation was carried out and "changes to work control arrangements have been made".

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/11754988/Two-electricians-accidentally-sealed-inside-nuclear-submarine.html

wow so scary

Upgraded Merlins To Boost Royal Marines' Air Mobility

LONDON — The first of 25 AW101 Merlin helicopters being modified for use by the Royal Marines is about to be released to service, signaling a first step toward a major uptick in the capabilities of Britain's elite commandos.

"Modification work on the ex-Royal Air Force Merlin is complete and we are waiting for release to service in the next four or five weeks," a spokesman for contractor AgustaWestland said Aug 27.

With a new helicopter poised to start improving air mobility compared with the ancient Sea King Mk4 machines they will replace, the Royal Marines are setting out to boost land mobility and, longer term, possibly sea maneuver capabilities as well.

Last month, the MoD's procurement arm revealed it was evaluating a program to replace part of the commando's fleet of all-terrain vehicles while the Marines themselves are studying the balance of investment across most of the surface craft they employ for amphibious operations.

For the moment, the immediate focus is on the upgraded rotorcraft soon to be handed over to the Commando Helicopter Force, which moves troops and stores from amphibious warfare vessels to the shore as well as transporting them around the battlefield.

It's the first of seven Merlins undergoing an interim modification with a folding rotor head and minor communications and other changes being rushed into operation between now and the second quarter of 2016 as a stop-gap measure as the long-serving Sea Kings are finally pensioned off next year.

Once deliveries are complete, the change will greatly improve the capabilities of British Marines, according to Doug Barrie, the air analyst at the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.

"Merlin's a helicopter which is two generations on from the Sea King, it's a significantly more capable machine," he said.

"It carries more, goes further and gets where it's going faster. With three engines it can continue to undertake a mission even if it losses one of the engines. It's also much more comfortable for the troops," said Barrie.

The Ministry of Defence signed a £330 million (US $504.9 million) deal last year with Merlin-builder AgustaWestland to navalize 25 machines that had previously seen service with the RAF as battlefield support helicopters in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

The Merlins transited from the RAF to the Marines in June and their move to the Royal Naval Air Station at Yeovilton is due to be completed next year.

The first Merlin scheduled for the full-up modification fit, including an extensive avionics update, folding tail and rotor heads, a stronger undercarriage and other changes was delivered to AgustaWestland's Yeovil factory ahead of upgrading to the Merlin Mk 4/4a standard, said the company spokesman.

The initial operating capability of the fully configured commando Merlin is set for 2018 but the final aircraft is not scheduled for delivery until 2022 — a lengthy process dictated more by budget requirements than the lift needs of Britain's 7,000 strong commando force.

The seven interim aircraft will eventually be updated to the full configuration as part of the deal.

With the helicopter program buttoned down, the Royal Marine equipment focus shifted recently to the land where work is underway on a possible purchase of a new fleet of amphibious all-terrain support vehicles to replace the BAE Systems'-built BV206.

The BV206, with its two linked tracked units, is highly regarded for its mobility, including an amphibious capability that allows it to swim ashore from Royal Navy amphibious assault ships if required.

The MoD described the BV206s as "obsolete" and in need of replacing.

The purchase of some 233 new machines is in the early planning stage. The MoD's Defence Equipment & Support arm reckons the cost will come in around £230 million.

The upcoming strategic defense and security review planned for release by the government in the fourth quarter could impact equipment plans but for now selecting a winning contractor remains some 30 months away.

Under the current schedule, the MoD is aiming for a service entry date of September 2021 and full operating capability by March 2024.

The Swedish-built BV206s fulfill training, logistic support and other roles with the Marines deploying the vehicle's better protected and bigger brother, the BvS10 Viking, for front-line operations.

"Its role will likely be to deliver troops and equipment to the front line as the BV206 has done in the past. Viking moves troops and equipment round the battlespace in a hostile environment," said an MoD spokesman.

Troop-carrying, mortar, ambulance, command, repair and logistic flatbed variants are on the procurement list.

Some details of the requirement could start to emerge at a stakeholder day planned to take place on the sidelines of the DSEi defense exhibition, which opens in London Sept. 15.

The MoD spokesman did not rule out other solutions but said the British would likely retain a two-unit configuration for its future all-terrain vehicle.

"The most likely solution is a two-car variant. The new capability needs to interface with in-service equipment such as the landing platform dock and landing craft utility Mk10," he said.

That's likely to put BAE in a head-to-head competition with rival Singaporean all-terrain vehicle supplier ST Kinetics, which already supplies its Warthog machine to the British Army.

Air and land mobility improvements may be underway but for the time being there are no plans to increase mobility on the sea.

A scheme to acquire new high-speed landing craft to take troops and up to five all-terrain vehicles from ship to shore is on hold.

The possible replacement of the LCU MK10 has been talked about for years, with companies like BMT Defence Services and QinetiQ offering designs able to move men and vehicles at speeds in excess of 30 knots instead of chugging around at between 8-10 knots as the current Royal Marine vessels do.

A spokesman for the Royal Marines said plans to take forward other technologies like fast-landing craft are deferred pending future capability priorities.

"There is work ongoing to determine future requirements for the landing craft which will inform equipment replacement funding allocation. We can't be more specific on that at this stage," he said.

The Marines are, however, also looking at other craft in the surface maneuver sector as part of force development activity to ensure they have the balance of investment right.

The Griffon 2400TD hovercraft, inshore offshore raiding craft, inflatable raiding craft and the LCUP Mk5 landing craft are all reckoned to be part of the study, although the LCU Mk10 falls outside the work.

"We can't be more specific on this at present but a study of Royal Marines surface maneuver is being conducted," said the spokesman.

http://forces.tv/05674493

Video about hms queen elizabeth, amazing to see her now she is pretty much complete.

The two halves of RoyalNavy's 2nd new aircraft carrier of Queen Elisabeth class have been put together, HMS Prince of Wales.

Sunday Times article on supposed P8 purchase cancellation.

Royal Navy and French Navy are producing their own supersonic stealth cruise missilePerseus.The weapon was first unveiled at the 2011 Paris Air Show. CVS401 Perseus is primarily a supersonic surface-launched and submarine-launched cruise missile built around an advanced, agile and stealth aircraft airframe.


Good to see someone from west going for it .

"Britain plans to increase the number of stealth fighter jets it can launch from aircraft carriers over the next decade and boost anti-terrorism spending by 30 percent, finance minister George Osborne said on Sunday. Osborne is due to announce on Wednesday the details of spending cuts which, according to International Monetary Fund data, rank as the most aggressive austerity plan among the world's rich economies between now and 2020. Ahead of that, the government will on Monday set out a five-year defense strategy. "We are going to step up the aircraft carrier punch of the United Kingdom. We are going to make sure that when these aircraft carriers are available they are going to have planes that can fly from them in force," Osborne told BBC television. "By 2023, we will be able to have 24 of these jets, some of the most powerful in the world, the F-35, on the decks of these carriers."

Those will be the first tranche of a total order of 138 of Lockheed Martin's F-35 Lightning II jets, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said. Britain had not previously confirmed how many it planned to order or a time scale, but the spokesman said the 24 marked a "substantial acceleration". Osborne denied his overall focus on cutting public spending might hurt Britain's attempts to prevent attacks like the ones seen in Paris earlier this month, saying spending on anti-terrorism defenses would be increased by 30 percent. "We will make sure that Britain is properly defended against the terrorist threat," he said. Britain, which said in July it would commit to NATO's defense spending pledge of 2 percent of GDP for the next five years, had reduced defense spending by about 8 percent in real terms since 2010 to help cut a record budget deficit including shrinking the size of the armed forces by around one sixth.



As part of Wednesday's spending cuts announcement, the government will tweak plans to make big savings in Britain's welfare budget after an original proposal to scale back tax credits for lower-earning households was rejected in a rare rebellion by the upper house of parliament. Osborne said on Sunday he was willing to listen to what he described as the "perfectly legitimate concerns" of those who have argued more must be done to ease the transition period. He also said he was still aiming to return Britain to a budget surplus by the end of the decade but declined to confirm he would stick to a target of 10 billion pounds set out in July, saying the precise level would be announced on Wednesday. "There is nothing painful about a surplus, the pain comes if you borrow forever, if you don’t fix your national finances," he said."


Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/22/us-britain-defence-idUSKBN0TB0BM20151122#RlJ7Kl20FszFHeVc.99

JohninMK wrote:
Got to try to fill them with something.

They don't even have a well dock on it. They going to fly everything to the beach?