UK Defence Forum

5,000t+ (Iver hull most likely) 2-3,000t (Probably stretched River) I think RN need both. Considering the cost deference between each option, if RN really is to increase vessel numbers it is highly likley that it will be with OPV's rather than Frigates IMO, although possibly based more on Leander t...

Mighty lightly armed for a Warship....

....are there any historic threads in this forum discussing what kind of capabilities would be required to counter Iran's speedboat flotilla? The A140 setup in the 'gun boat' configuration (57mm, 2x 40mm) would seem ideally suited IMO. Quad packed VLS Spear3 would be a major boost for the T31's and...

Good news if true.......

https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics ... p-building

Some interesting background here. https://www.shephardmedia.com/news/defence-notes/opinion-tripartite-naval-exercise-indication-shift/ An LSG widely distributed across the region and regularly operating in both the Indian Ocean and the west coast of Africa would make a big difference. A T31 forward ...

donald_of_tokyo wrote:I do not share to optimistic growing UK defense, sometimes discussed here, and this article looks more reflecting the real situation.

A welcome sense of perspective.
https://thinpinstripedline.blogspot.com ... fence.html

Well BMT and Navantia joined together to bid the contract. I guess that’s there choice but I don’t see why it should be an issue. I’ve never understood the obsession in the naval world to have everything designed and built exclusively in the UK, no other section does. Type 31 has imo been a welcome...

In one sense I can see why the Navantia bid has merit after all isn’t there proposal based on a solid stores variant of the tide class tankers. If the RFA are happy with the tide class and know the design the commonality that basing the stores ship on the same design would surely be of benefit. In ...

Maybe we will see a third QE after all
https://www.doonited.in/britain-offers- ... -to-india/

....the fleet needs some redundancy in depth. Exactly. Current planning has very little strength in depth to the point where the loss of a small number of escorts or a SSS could mean a conflict lost. The decision was taken in 2010 and again in 2015 that the UK would no longer posess the capability ...

I do. I am impressed with your optimism. Keep the faith :thumbup: I can see many good places a ship as armed as a modern corvette can work. How many places could a T23 GP potentially operate where a T31 won't be able to? These are far more important than making T31 a tier-1 escorts. If the UK wants...

What the heck are you talking about? They've just signed a contract with Babcocks for 5 ships at an average 250 mill each. You want to rip up that contract that's a mere two days old? No. Not at all. Do you really believe the five T31's are going to be built for £1.25bn? I don't and I suspect other...

I think the £2bn budget is simply a realistic estimate of what the programme will cost. An average price of £400m for each of the five T31's is still good value especially if they are configured at a credible level. With the contract for the first five signed, I would like to see HMG now commit to a...

Great news! Wasn't expecting this to be confirmed before the election is done and dusted. If £1.25bn is going to Babcock where is the other £750m going? This might just be a misprint (like the picture) but Forces Network is reporting that the T31 will have a 4D radar. Could this be NS200? https://ww...

Common sense prevails.... https://twitter.com/NavyLookout/status/1192714622614290434?s=20 Here is the quote in full: ‘I’m working with a number of organisations, from Britannia (Maritime) Aid to Cammell Laird and to others in the maritime sector to really look at how we turbo-charge shipbuil...

three Vessel types that can act independently, but combined to give greater (probably Cdo level) effect. It would be a great outcome if the LSG structure was to be this ambitious. A FLSS, Wave and Bay would be ideal plus whatever escorts that were deemed necessary. Efficient, scalable and affordabl...

Like currently on RFA Argus - though historically I believe Argus had 5 spots. Maybe, but Argus is a totally different proposition to the Prevail MRV. It all depends on how RN want to structure the LSG and at present this is far from clear. One thing is for sure, new vessels will need to be procure...

- three Chinooks does not translate to 3 such spots - e.g. in the Points conversion, a lift under the superstructure could feed them to that spot, while from the forward "ramp" as it is today... more likely to become a shelter or the upper end of a smaller lift, a Wildcat (mentioned!) cou...

shark bait wrote:The guy says he wants to lift 120 commandos, the solution is 4-6 Merlin.

If so, where does that leave the FLSS concept?

up to six helicopters, possibly three “heavy lift” Chinooks, a Wildcat and two Apache gunships. The Prevail Partners concept has no hope of embarking a force as described above, unless the Chinooks gain powered folding rotors and/or a lift is installed like Argus. However, switch the Chinooks for M...

The potential of introducing Point based FLSS's at a modest cost is obvious. Regardless of the outcome of the FLSS programme, modified or adapted next generation Points would seem like a sensible way to proceed when the current vessels decommission. https://twitter.com/BritishArmy/status/11877921876...

Easy to draw comparisons with the 'lightning carrier' concept and the future role of HMS PWLS. https://news.usni.org/2019/10/23/marines-test-lightning-carrier-concept-control-13-f-35bs-from-multiple-amphibs Being vastly larger it is reasonable to expect a CVF to perform even better in this role than...

Doesn't sound like a bad deal on paper, commonality with the tide class, British engineered, British blocks, and assembled by an experienced yard. If the BMT/Navantia design is preferred over the UK consortium option, why not just build the BMT design in the UK? Politically, sending this contract a...

Slow progress but progress nonetheless.

Are they necessarily exclusive though. They aren't and I don't disagree with your reasoning but it really all comes down to RN's view of the future. If MCM is to be performed by a small number of 150m+ vessels then the entire auxiliary fleet will get a shake-up as it will be a major doctrinal shift...