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Not so long ago, Britain’s Royal Navy bestrode the world’s oceans, sustained by a seafaring culture second to none. “It is the custom of the English to command at sea,” proclaimed King Charles II. His countrymen agreed. Historian Alfred Thayer Mahan recalled that the navy “sprang rapidly into a new life and vigor” under the “stern rule” of Charles’s archenemy, Oliver Cromwell. And after World War I, German vice admiral Wolfgang Wegener wrote admiringly that his erstwhile foes had “the sea in their veins.” British sea power looked both indomitable and eternal. These days, not so much. Victory in the...

Navy's £1bn+ destroyers set to remain unarmed for years Ex-British miracle missiles in new test FAIL By Lewis Page Posted in Science, 2nd December 2009 14:46 GMT The "Sea Viper" missile system for the Royal Navy's new Type 45 destroyers looks set to suffer further setbacks following a reported failure during test firings. The weapons are already so late that the first £1bn+ Type 45 has been in naval service for nearly a year - almost completely unarmed. News of the test failure comes courtesy of the Ares blog, reporting remarks by Andrew Tyler of the UK Defence Equipment and...

The racing yacht, the Kingdom Of Bahrain, owned by Sail Bahrain and crewed by the five Britons, was stopped by Iranian naval vessels last Wednesday as it sailed from Bahrain to Dubai. The crew members are still in Iran and are understood to be safe and well. Their families have been informed. The Foreign Office said the yacht might have "inadvertently" strayed into Iranian waters. The sailors were heading to Dubai to join the Dubai-Muscat Offshore Sailing Race. One of the men onboard has been named as David Bloomer, believed to be a radio presenter in Bahrain. A source later...

Five British sailors are being held captive in Iran after they strayed into the country’s territorial waters on their way to an international yacht race. The Britons were part of the nine-strong crew of the Kingdom of Bahrain, a racing yacht, which was apprehended by the Iranian navy on Wednesday. It is thought the boat, which carried a satellite tracker, may have drifted into Iranian waters after its propeller was damaged. The newly refitted vessel was making its way from Bahrain to Dubai for a 350-mile race to Muscat, which began on Thursday. When the yacht failed to arrive, expatriate...

The Royal Navy is regularly allowing Somalian pirates to go free because of the risk they would claim asylum if prosecuted in Europe. Pirates terrorising ships in the Indian Ocean, looting and taking hostages, are often given medical checks and fed after being caught, before being sent of their way. This is also sometimes because although they are carrying guns and other weapons, they have not been caught in the act of piracy and therefore have not technically committed a crime. More than 340 suspected Somalian pirates have been captured by international naval forces in the last year and subsequently...

The first woman in the Royal Navy to be awarded the Military Cross collected her bravery medal today from Buckingham Palace today. Medical Assistant Kate Nesbitt was honoured for her heroism by the Prince of Wales. The 21-year-old from Plymouth, Devon, braved Taliban fire to tend to a comrade shot in the neck during a gun battle in Afghanistan in March. Brave: Medical Assistant Kate Nesbitt receives the Military Cross from the Prince of Wales during investitures at Buckingham Palace in London today She dressed the wound on L/Cpl John List's neck and kept him from losing blood while bullets...

MoD may sell aircraft carrier to India to limit cuts Sale would leave Royal Navy with just one replacement Tim Webb The Observer, Sunday 15 November 2009 Article historyOne of Britain's new £2bn aircraft carriers could be sold off under cost-cutting plans being considered by the Ministry of Defence. India has lodged a firm expression of interest, the Observer has learned. The sale of one of the two 65,000-tonne vessels would leave the Royal Navy with a single carrier and could force Britain to borrow from the French fleet, which itself has only one carrier and is reluctant to build...

An impression of how a controversial future giant aircraft carrier would look in its home base has been unveiled today by the Royal Navy.The computer-generated image has been created to give an impression of the scale of the next generation of warships which are due to enter service in 2015.It shows one of the carriers alongside at Portsmouth Naval Base, Hampshire, where it would take up three jetties.     Ministry of Defence computer generated image of how a controversial future giant aircraft carrier would look in its home base was unveiled today by the Royal Navy. It shows one...

The XSR military interceptor is the fastest boat ever built and is set to take to the water in the battle against pirates and drug smugglers. The British-designed vessel travels at almost 100mph, carries a retractable heavy machine gun and would not look out of place in a 007 film. With a maximum speed of 85 knots (97mph) and carrying a .50 calibre machine gun hidden under the deck, the boat will be able to overhaul “go-fast” drug smuggling boats in the Caribbean and pirate ships off the coast of Somalia. The vessel is part of a raft of new...

UK Ready To Ditch STOVL F-35? Posted by Bill Sweetman at 8/6/2009 7:09 AM CDT London's Daily Telegraph reports this morning that the UK is preparing to switch from the short take-off, vertical landing (STOVL) version of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to the F-35C carrier (CV) model, because it costs less and has a greater weapon load and range. According to the paper, its sources say that the decision is not final, and that a choice one way or the other will be announced this fall. It quotes procurement minister Quentin Davies as saying: “We have to take an...

HMS Poseidon sank in 130ft of water on June 9, 1931, after a collision with a Chinese merchant steamer 20 miles north of the British naval base at Weihai. Relatives and survivors had always thought the vessel remained on the sea bed along with the lost men. But American historian Steven Schwankert claims the Chinese salvaged the vessel without fanfare in the early 1970s to test the skills of their naval special forces and newly formed underwater recovery units. He has been investigating the fate of the Poseidon since coming across references to its salvage in an obscure Chinese magazine...

This was the moment a group of heavily-armed pirates learned it isn't wise to tangle with the Royal Navy. The gang - carrying machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades - were found prowling for victims in the seas off the Somali coast. But as these dramatic pictures show they won't be doing much terrorising for a while. After their arrest, the pirates found the crew of frigate HMS Portland blasting one of their boats to pieces. The drama began when a Spanish patrol aircraft spotted two suspicious skiffs in the Gulf of Aden. The area is plagued by highly-organised pirates operating...

Barack Obama continues to act out his pathology at our expense. His appalling treatment of British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, could have been written off as simply another example of this administration’s ineptitude. Though this administration is indeed incompetent, Obama also has his own ax to grind with the Brits and lacks the emotional maturity to deal with it like a grown up. Phase One of Operation Ally Alienation was the belligerent act of rejecting Downing Street’s offer to allow the new president to keep the bust of Winston Churchill that had been given to former president Bush after 9/11...

Pakistan may acquire 'retired' Type 42 Batch destroyers from UK 2009-05-28 17:50:00 London, May 28 (ANI): Pakistan may acquire three Type 42 Batch 3 destroyers from Britain after they are retired from the Royal Navy (RN). Pakistan is also in discussion with the United States to acquire FFG 7 frigates. The Pakistan Navy's frigate force currently includes six ex-RN Type 21s which constitute the 25th Destroyer Squadron. With almost all warships over 30 years of age, the Pakistan Navy is looking to build its force largely with second hand ships acquired from different countries, The Nation reports. Pakistan has also...

Super-destroyer to guard 2012 Games The navy is set to deploy its most advanced weapons against any 9/11-style attack David Leppard THE Royal Navy is on standby to deploy the world’s most advanced destroyer to protect the 2012 Olympics from a 9/11-style attack. Security chiefs are drawing up plans to moor one of the navy’s new Daring class of Type 45 destroyers in the Thames estuary. The ship, which boasts a sophisticated antiair missile system, would be ready to shoot down hijacked aircraft or small passenger jets flown towards London or the Olympic site by terrorists. Three Type 45 destroyers...

Navy warships dispatched as Spain invades seas around Gibraltar Royal Navy warships have forced heavily armed Spanish ships to retreat from British waters around Gibraltar. Relations between the 30,000 residents of the British outpost and mainland Spain have become strained following what the Foreign Office described as 'a violation of British sovereignty'. The warships were dispatched after Spanish ships sent boarding parties to inspect fishing boats in British waters, despite having no authority to do so. DISPUTE: Inhabitants are concerned the Spanish authorities want to control the British outpost of GibraltarThe Rock's inhabitants fear Spain could damage their economy by...

MANAMA, Bahrain, April 20, 2009 – The British military support ship Royal Fleet Auxiliary Wave Knight, working in support of the Combined Maritime Forces, thwarted two April 18 pirate attacks on merchant vessels in the Gulf of Aden, resulting in the release of 13 hostages and disrupting the activities of 14 Somali pirates. "This is a clear demonstration of how cooperation between more than a dozen international naval forces can result in the successful disruption of piracy activity," said Royal Navy Commodore Tim Lowe, deputy commander of the Combined Maritime Forces. "In the last 72 hours alone, coordinated efforts of...

Centenary fleet By Craig Hoyle The coming months are to be a period of celebration for the Royal Navy, with the UK's "senior service" marking the 100th anniversary of its first foray into aviation activities. Personnel past and present will be looking back during a series of commemorative events, including air show appearances and a service of thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral in London. To be held early next month, the latter will also be an act of remembrance for the 6,000 British naval aviators to have lost their lives over the course of the last century. HISTORIC FIRSTS "Fly...

Flying the Sea Harrier: a test pilot's perspective By Craig Hoyle Royal Navy Cdr Nigel "Sharkey" Ward and the Royal Air Force's David Morgan gained their place in British military folklore by flying the navy's British Aerospace Sea Harrier FRS1 fighter with distinction during the 1982 Falklands War. Flight International's UK test pilot Peter Collins offers a rare insight on flying the "SHAR", having sailed south aboard the rapidly completed aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious as the combat action drew to a close. Freshly posted to Germany as an RAF Harrier GR3 ground-attack pilot, Collins was recalled to the UK after...

A BRITISH nuclear-powered submarine with 130 crew crashed into Australia's continental shelf off the coast of Perth in a potentially deadly accident that was covered up at the time. The incident caused a 5200-tonne Royal Navy attack submarine, HMS Trenchant, armed with cruise missiles, to become "grounded" off Rottnest Island in July 1997, according to information just released in the British parliament. The accident was one of 13 collisions involving Royal Navy nuclear-powered submarines since 1988 and was released last week by Armed Forces Minister Bob Ainsworth. "HMS Trenchant grounded off the coast of Australia in July 1997," was the...

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BRITAIN’S nuclear defence HQ could be under threat from terrorists using Google Earth. Close-up aerial views of the top-secret Naval base are on the computer program — available for free over the internet. It even reveals the longitude and latitude of the facility in Faslane, Scotland — home to the UK’s Trident-armed nuclear submarine force. And pictures clearly show two vast Vanguard Class submarines — each capable of carrying 16 nuclear missiles. Military experts warn that would make it easy for terrorists to launch accurate mortar or rocket attacks.

BRITAIN’S nuclear defence HQ could be under threat from terrorists using Google Earth. Close-up aerial views of the top-secret Naval base are on the computer program — available for free over the internet. It even reveals the longitude and latitude of the facility in Faslane, Scotland — home to the UK’s Trident-armed nuclear submarine force. And pictures clearly show two vast Vanguard Class submarines — each capable of carrying 16 nuclear missiles. Military experts warn that would make it easy for terrorists to launch accurate mortar or rocket attacks. One told The Sun: "A strike on our nuclear capability would...

This Indian warship is 50 and still raring to go By Shiv Aroor in Kochi “ I OBLITERATE those who dare to fight me”. There couldnt be a more fitting motto for a warship that is now half- a- century old — one that is the worlds oldest aircraft carrier still in full service. The Indian Navys 28,700- tonne INS Viraat has steamed on without any major hitch for decades. On November 18 this year, the iconic warship will mark 50 years since she was commissioned in the Royal Navy as the HMS Hermes . Now in Kochi undergoing her...

LONDON – Nuclear submarines from Britain and France collided deep in the Atlantic Ocean this month, authorities said Monday in the first acknowledgment of a highly unusual accident that one expert called the gravest in nearly two decades. Officials said the low-speed crash did not damage the vessels' nuclear reactors or missiles or cause radiation to leak. But anti-nuclear groups said it was still a frightening reminder of the risks posed by submarines prowling the oceans powered by radioactive material and bristling with nuclear weapons. The first public indication of a mishap came when France reported in a little-noticed Feb....

British and French submarines armed with ballistic missiles threatened a nuclear disaster after colliding in the Atlantic. The crash is believed to have occurred after state-of-the-art technology fitted in both vessels, which is designed to detect other submarines, apparently failed completely. Each boat is a key part of their respective countries' nuclear deterrent, ready to unleash hugely destructive weapons at a moment’s notice. While both countries claim that security was not threatened by the collision, wide-scale enquiries are currently underway on both sides of the Channel.

French sub unaware it rammed Royal Navy vessel in mid-Atlantic nuclear crash Charles Bremner in Paris, and David Brown A French submarine was unaware it had rammed and damaged a British nuclear sub in a mid-Atlantic collision until it was informed by the Royal Navy. HMS Vanguard and the French submarine Le Triomphant were both carrying nuclear ballistic warheads when they crashed in the Atlantic earlier this month. Both navies said today that the collision had been unavoidable because the vessels were “running silently” to avoid detection by sonar. Official inquiries have started in Britain and France into the incident...

British and French nuclear submarines which collided deep under the Atlantic could have sunk or released deadly radioactivity, it emerged on Sunday. The Royal Navy’s HMS Vanguard and the French Navy’s Le Triomphant are both nuclear powered and were carrying nuke missiles. Between them they had around 250 sailors on board. A senior Navy source said: “The potential consequences are unthinkable. It’s very unlikely there would have been a nuclear explosion. “But a radioactive leak was a possibility. Worse, we could have lost the crew and warheads. That would have been a national disaster.” The collision is believed to have...

BRITISH and French nuclear submarines which collided deep under the Atlantic could have sunk or released deadly radioactivity, it emerged last night. The Royal Navy’s HMS Vanguard and the French Navy’s Le Triomphant are both nuclear powered and were carrying nuke missiles. Between them they had around 250 sailors on board.

Britain's first entirely stealth warship - and the Royal Navy's most expensive surface vessel - is set to join the fleet. So what does more than £1bn buy? :: At over 7,000 tonnes of ship, the new destroyers are half as big again as the Type 42 they will replace. :: Sampson radar dome high over the bridge can detect a threat the size of a cricket ball closing at three times the speed of sound. :: The main weapons system is a multiple silo capable of launching 48 anti-aircraft missiles. :: Electric, final drive gives high performance with low...

Mware whitepaper - The business case for Virtualization The Ministry of Defence confirmed today that it has suffered virus infections which have shut down "a small number" of MoD systems, most notably including admin networks aboard Royal Navy warships. The Navy computers infected are the NavyStar (N*) system, based on a server cabinet and cable-networked PCs on each warship and used for purposes such as storekeeping, email and similar support functions. N* ship nets connect to wider networks by shore connection when vessels are in harbour and using satcomms when at sea.

World's most advanced destroyer handed to Royal Navy The world's most advanced destroyer with the capability to defend the entire city of London from missile attack has been handed over to the Royal Navy. By Thomas Harding, Defence Correspondent The Type 45 warship will be a significant boost to the Navy that has suffered severe cuts in recent years bringing the latest in anti-missile technology, radar detection and propulsion. But HMS Daring will have to wait several years to be able to defend the major aircraft carriers that it was built to support as a major delay for the ships...

The Falkland Islands are to be left without the protection of a British warship for the first time since the war with Argentina because the Royal Navy no longer has enough ships to meet all its commitments. HMS Northumberland has been pulled off Falkland duties because of Navy outstretch The frigate HMS Northumberland, which is armed with guided missiles, torpedoes and a Lynx helicopter, was due to be sent on patrol to the islands this month. But it will now be replaced by a Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) vessel not equipped for offensive combat operations. The controversial decision was forced...

Pirates caught redhanded by one of Her Majesty’s warships after trying to hijack a cargo ship off Somalia made the grave mistake of opening fire on two Royal Navy assault craft packed with commandos armed with machineguns and SA80 rifles. In the ensuing gunfight, two Somali pirates in a Yemeni-registered fishing dhow were killed, and a third pirate, believed to be a Yemeni, suffered injuries and subsequently died. It was the first time the Royal Navy had been engaged in a fatal shoot-out on the high seas in living memory.

The Royal Navy described the boarding as 'compliant' Michael Evans, Defence Editor and Rob Crilly Pirates caught redhanded by one of Her Majesty’s warships after trying to hijack a cargo ship off Somalia made the grave mistake of opening fire on two Royal Navy assault craft packed with commandos armed with machineguns and SA80 rifles. In the ensuing gunfight, two Somali pirates in a Yemeni-registered fishing dhow were killed, and a third pirate, believed to be a Yemeni, suffered injuries and subsequently died. It was the first time the Royal Navy had been engaged in a fatal shoot-out on the...

Britain is to take command of the European Union's first naval mission which will seek to tackle the growing threat from pirates off the coast of Somalia. In what Herve Morin, the French defence minister, hailed as a "marvellous symbol" of moves towards a Euro-military and defence policy, Operation Atalanta will next month take to the high seas in the Gulf of Aden to protect United Nations aid shipments and commercial vessels which are repeatedly hijacked. The Eunavor force - made up of at least seven ships, including three frigates, a supply vessel and support from surveillance aircraft - will...

Navy to tackle Gulf pirates: Another tanker hijacked as Britain takes lead role in EU mission to keep shipping lanes open for trade... John Hutton, the new Defence Secretary, has agreed to deploy the frigate Northumberland... ...another tanker had been hijacked in the Gulf of Aden near Somalia. The Greek chemical tanker, Commodore Keith Winstanley,...argued that security companies working in Iraq or Afghanistan could have a role to play.

One of the last Falkland-era ships still being used by the Royal Navy has been withdrawn from service ahead of schedule. HMS Exeter, used to shoot down Argentina Skyhawk jets in the Falkland War in 1982, sailed back to Portsmouth harbour last month, fuelling fears the Navy is suffering from defence budget cuts. Last month a report by the UK National Defence Association said the Armed Forces were all "woefully under-funded" and the defence budget needs to be increased from the current £34 billion to £50 billion over the next three years. Defence funding has hit the lowest level since...

The government is planning further big cuts to the Royal Navy after deciding that terrorism is the only serious threat to Britain. Annual accounts from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) show that it is to cut funding for new ships and equipment by more than 20%, from about £1.8 billion a year to a maximum of £1.4 billion. The cuts come as the MoD tries to fill a £2 billion shortfall in its budget over the next three years. Overspending has left funding even for this year uncertain. They will force the navy to shrink its commitments around the globe,...

Eighteen sailors on a Royal Navy warship have tested positive for cocaine, the MoD has said. They were caught during routine testing onboard HMS Liverpool, deployed in the South Atlantic. The ship has been involved in combating drug smuggling. "Internal action" is being taken against the sailors in what is believed to be the biggest drug bust in the Navy's history. It comes after five soldiers were dismissed after failing a drugs test.

Kuwait has activated its Emergency War Plan after an armada of US naval battle groups headed for the Persian Gulf, Middle East Times reports. The report comes after DEBKAfiles claimed on Monday that the USS Theodore Roosevelt, the USS Ronald Reagan, and the USS Iwo Jima are sailing toward the Persian Gulf to reinforce the US strike forces in the region. The US naval force is accompanied by a British Royal Navy carrier battle group and a French nuclear hunter-killer submarine. The deployment is believed to be the largest naval task force assembled by the United States and its allies...

Aircraft carriers: plane sailing Britain is paying a high price, but not too high If diplomacy is the continuation of war by other means, and if the art of diplomacy is to speak softly and carry a big stick, then no stick comes much bigger, or looks more intimidating, than a 65,000-tonne aircraft carrier. Except maybe two 65,000-tonne aircraft carriers. The tricky part of the equation is that big sticks do not come cheap. The Government has signed a contract for two 65,000-tonne supercarriers for the Royal Navy. As big sticks go, these are the second-biggest of their kind. Only...

A deal to build Britain's biggest ever aircraft carriers is expected to be sealed today. The Ministry of Defence is poised to sign contracts worth around £3 billion for two 65,000-ton ships. The Queen Elizabeth and the Prince of Wales will be built at Govan in Glasgow and Rosyth in Fife, as well as Portsmouth and Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria. Measuring more than 300 yards in length, the ships will have a flight deck the size of three football pitches and space for 40 aeroplanes. They will be similar in size to the QE2 and are more than three times the...

Two Royal Navy destroyers could not fire their missiles if they came under attack - because they have been removed to save cash. Type 42s HMS Exeter and HMS Southampton have been working without their Sea Dart guided missile system since Christmas, it was revealed today. To go with the cutbacks, at least half a dozen operating crew have been transferred to other ships. The missiles, used to protect the destroyers and larger aircraft carriers against air attack, have been stored away even though HMS Exeter has sailed to the Mediterranean twice and joined a NATO-led operation in that time....

Two hundred years after the battle of Trafalgar, the navy could end up sharing the pride of its fleet with the French. Driven by spiralling budgets, the two navies began talks last week aimed at sharing their aircraft carriers. The government is expected to give the go-ahead for the Royal Navy’s two new aircraft carriers this week, part of a joint Anglo-French project to build a total of three. The French, who currently have only one carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, are questioning whether they can afford a replacement and are keen to explore closer co-operation with Britain instead. “We...

Oil tankers and other merchant vessels will be assembled into convoys to sail under the protection of warships’ guns. The plans follow two serious confrontations between Iranian gunboats and British and US naval ships. Four of our frigates and destroyers are to be sent to the key Strait of Hormuz amid fears that commercial shipping will be targeted next. The narrow “chokepoint” carrying oil from the Persian Gulf is the most vulnerable area for attacks or suicide rammings. Three US ships almost opened fire there in January after being “buzzed” by Iranian boats. Advertisement The convoy plans have emerged from...

ARABIAN GULF — The Royal Navy has taken command of the Coalition Maritime Forces protecting Iraq's vital oil platforms in the Northern Arabian Gulf. Commodore Duncan Potts RN has taken over command of Combined Task Force 158 (CTF158) from Commodore Allan du Toit of the Royal Australian Navy. Command of the Task Force is rotated between the UK, US and Australia. The UK last held command of CTF158 in July 2007 and will command the Task Force until August. Combined Task Force 158's primary mission in the Northern Arabian Gulf is maintaining security in and around both the Al Basrah...

How Does Tom Allen Keep His Promise to US Vets If....? Would Tom Allen Recognize a U.S. Vet if He Saw One? Tom Allen’s campaign for U.S. Senator website is promoting a feature called, “Keeping Our Promise To American’s Veterans,” with a series of photos. But how does Tom Allen keep his promise to American Veterans if he doesn’t know what one looks like? The picture below from Allen's website is a stock photo of a Royal Navy sailor. A U.S. Navy sailor would not be wearing a beard. The weapon in the picture is a British weapon. This isn’t...

January 27, 2008 Margaret Thatcher told navy to raid Swedish coast Pelle Neroth MARGARET THATCHER ordered the Royal Navy to land Special Boat Service (SBS) frogmen on the coast of Sweden from British submarines pretending to be Soviet vessels, a new book has claimed. The deception involved numerous incursions by British forces into Swedish territorial waters in the 1980s and early 1990s, designed to heighten the impression around the world of the Soviet Union as an aggressive superpower. Sometimes the boats landed commandos, but often their job was to fool the Swedes by mimicking the sonar signals given off by...