Tag: UK

BUILDING BEGINS ON NEW ROYAL NAVY’S NUCLEAR SUBMARINES

Construction started in Barrow, Cumbria on the Royal Navy’s largest ever submarine. The nuclear sub will be over 150 metres long, weigh 17,500 tonnes, armed with Trident missiles and have accommodation for 130 male and female crew. The Successor project has now moved into the next stage, known as ‘Delivery Phase 1’, with manufacturing work… Continue reading BUILDING BEGINS ON NEW ROYAL NAVY’S NUCLEAR SUBMARINES

MOD SIGNS £184 MILLION CONTRACT TO SECURE AIR-TO-AIR MISSILES FOR THE F-35B

The Ministry of Defence has awarded a contract worth around £184 million to ensure the Royal Navy’s new supersonic stealth combat aircraft will continue to be equipped with the latest air-to-air missile. Designed and manufactured in the UK, ASRAAM is an advanced heat-seeking weapon which will give Royal Air Force (RAF) and Royal Navy F-35B… Continue reading MOD SIGNS £184 MILLION CONTRACT TO SECURE AIR-TO-AIR MISSILES FOR THE F-35B

F-35B LIGHTNING II LANDS IN THE UK

The first of Britain’s new supersonic ‘stealth’ strike fighters has touched down in the UK for the first time. The F-35B Lightning II jet was flown by RAF pilot Squadron Leader Hugh Nichols on its first transatlantic crossing, accompanied by two United States Marine Corps F-35B aircraft from their training base at Beaufort, South Carolina.… Continue reading F-35B LIGHTNING II LANDS IN THE UK

CAMERON DENIES MOD CAN’T FUND NEW SHIPS FOR ROYAL NAVY

By George Allison Sourced : UK Defence Journal David Cameron has rejected claims that a Royal Navy shipbuilding programme has been delayed because the Ministry of Defence has “run out of money”. At a Defence Select Committee meeting on the procurement of new ships for the Royal Navy, concerns were raised about the apparent lack… Continue reading CAMERON DENIES MOD CAN’T FUND NEW SHIPS FOR ROYAL NAVY

HUGE UK BASED ANGLO FRENCH EXERCISE COMES TO AN END

A Tri-Service exercise designed to test the Anglo-French working partnership was completed last Friday after a fortnight of exercising on sea, land and air. Eight warships from the Royal Navy and Marine Nationale took part – Royal Navy flagship HMS Ocean, HMS Bulwark, HMS Sutherland, as well as RFA Lyme Bay and French frigates FS… Continue reading HUGE UK BASED ANGLO FRENCH EXERCISE COMES TO AN END

HMS SOMERSET ESCORTED RUSSIAN TASK GROUP

A Royal Navy warship has shadowed a Russian Naval Task Group transiting through the English Channel and up the East Coast of the UK. HMS Somerset (F82), a Type 23 Frigate, along with her Merlin helicopter was used to detect and monitor the movement of the Russian warship, Vice Admiral Kulakov (626) and her supporting… Continue reading HMS SOMERSET ESCORTED RUSSIAN TASK GROUP

HMS ARTFUL TEST FIRES FIRST TORPEDO USING NEW UK-MADE ADVANCED COMBAT SYSTEM

The firing tested the BAE Systems designed Common Combat System (CCS) on board, which functions as the digital ‘brain’ of the boat controlling its ‘eyes’, ‘ears’ and ‘nervous system’. Using the torpedo test, the cutting-edge system was able to interpret sonar readings, and then attack a moving target with a practice weapon. The CCS, completed… Continue reading HMS ARTFUL TEST FIRES FIRST TORPEDO USING NEW UK-MADE ADVANCED COMBAT SYSTEM

BRITISH PARLIAMENT APPROVED AIR STRIKES AGAINST ISIS IN SYRIA – FIRST MISSION COMPLETED

A IX(B) Sqn Tornado GR4 training for deployment to Afghanistan. Pictured here on 12 October 2012 is a Tornado GR4 aircraft as it undertakes a training sortie over the North West of England. The Tornado from IX(B) Squardon is preparing for deployed operations over Afghanistan in the near future. The Tornado GR4 is a variable geometry, two-seat, day or night, all-weather attack aircraft capable of delivering a wide variety of weapons. Powered by two Rolls-Royce RB 199 Mk 103 turbofan engines, the GR4 is capable of low-level supersonic flight and can sustain a high subsonic cruise speed. The GR4 typically carries up to a maximum of 5 Paveway IV smart weapons or 2 Stormshadow cruise missiles but can be configured with various weapons, targeting pods and reconnaissance pods simultaneously including the Dual Mode Seeker (DMS) Brimstone, ALARM Mk2 missile, Litening III and the Reconnaissance Airborne Pod TORnado (RAPTOR). The Tornado GR4 is a world leader in the specialised field of all-weather, day and night tactical reconnaissance. The RAPTOR pod is one of the most advanced reconnaissance sensors in the world and greatly increases the effectiveness of the aircraft in the reconnaissance role. Its introduction into service gave the GR4 the ability to transmit real-time, Long Range Oblique Photography (LOROP) to commanders or to view this in cockpit during a mission. The stand-off range of the sensors also allows the aircraft to remain outside heavily defended areas, thus minimising the aircraft’s exposure to enemy air-defence systems. Additional capability in the Non-Traditional Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (NTISR) role is provided by the Litening III RD and the use of the ROVER data link for providing tactical operators with real time Full Motion Video (FMV) in the battle space. The Tornado GR4 is now equipped with the Storm Shadow missile and 2 variants of the Brimstone missile, including the most advanced DMS variant.

British Parliament voted yesterday in favor of bombing ISIS targets in Syria, marking the extension of UK’s operations in the region. The votes were 397 in favor and 223 against and the UK will join France, Jordan, United States and Australia, in their air campaign against ISIS in Syria. Royal Air Force has been bombing… Continue reading BRITISH PARLIAMENT APPROVED AIR STRIKES AGAINST ISIS IN SYRIA – FIRST MISSION COMPLETED

HMS RICHMOND’S DRUGS SEIZURE IN THE MEDITERRANEAN

The crew of a Royal Navy warship have seized around £3m worth of cannabis during a security patrol in the Mediterranean. The Portsmouth based frigate HMS Richmond sent up her Lynx helicopter that spotted what was believed to be a drug smuggling boat and immediately moved in to investigate. With HMS Richmond nearby her Royal… Continue reading HMS RICHMOND’S DRUGS SEIZURE IN THE MEDITERRANEAN

PLYMOUTH UNIVERSITY PARTNERS WITH NATO ON STRATEGY AND SECURITY MASTERS DEGREE

Plymouth University has signed a pioneering partnership agreement with NATO’s Maritime Operational Training Centre that will lead to the launch of a new masters degree in strategy and maritime security. The programme, which will be delivered jointly by the University and the NATO Maritime Interdiction Operational Training Centre (NMIOTC), will enable serving military personnel from… Continue reading PLYMOUTH UNIVERSITY PARTNERS WITH NATO ON STRATEGY AND SECURITY MASTERS DEGREE