That is totally wrong. The NSS called for more competition to keep prices down. SJP's solution to shipyards going out of business was to suggest large steel box makers (of which there are a few in the UK) with zero experience of marine building, could build blocks at inland sites to be shipped to a ...

On an unrelated note, that image of the Venator 110 really irritates when you consider how the most potentially innovative T31e design got sidelined by an original RFI which seems to have gone out the window already.... Sorry for the deviation. Got sidelined because the budget & timescale does ...

From Flightglobal: Leonardo has begun flight testing new weapon wings for the AW159 Wildcat helicopter, which will carry anti-ship missiles for the UK Royal Navy. Performed using a RN Wildcat HMA2 (ZZ513), the trials began on 2 July from the manufacturer's facility in Yeovil, in the southwest of Eng...

Paywalled for me, unfortunately! Three clocks labelled Ottawa, Glasgow and Adelaide sit on the wall of a meeting room at BAE Systems’ Govan shipyard on the River Clyde. The site is where the defence giant is building the first batch of a planned eight Type 26 frigates for the Royal Navy. The cities...

Both Arrowhead and MEKO are in risk of resigning from the bid? Anyway, it looks very difficult to bid with fixed price, both HW and AP, they need to add up the survival cost until the actual build starts. Yes Cammell Laird, if lost the Leander bid, can help, but as it will be free bid process, I ca...

An interesting article from the Telegraph:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/20 ... ing-world/

From Aviation Week: A year after their arrival to home shores, Britain’s Lockheed Martin F-35 operations are gathering pace. The nine-strong fleet, joined by an additional six aircraft on July 16, were declared operational in January, then deployed overseas and performed their first operational miss...

Has recent events in the Gulf changed anyone's mind as to the value of high speed for an escort? A topic that is regularly poo pooed as being old fashioned or just a USN peculiarity.

One of Babcock's Type 31 team members having a spot of bother building ships on time & money. In fact, I'm pretty sure this is the only team member that has any current ship building experience.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/11556 ... a-sturgeon

HMS Tirpitz

What "rubber cap" ? This one, at t = 6s to 7s. Mushroom hat been taken off prior to the test, and a "flat rubber cap" is shown. Surely the "mushroom" IS the rubber cap. No. Mushroom is removed BEFORE the CAMM ignition. Please carefully take a look. PS there was a photo...

donald_of_tokyo wrote:

shark bait wrote:What "rubber cap" ?

This one, at t = 6s to 7s.
Mushroom hat been taken off prior to the test, and a "flat rubber cap" is shown.

Surely the "mushroom" IS the rubber cap.

https://twitter.com/BAES_Maritime/status/1134086781530443779 Great info. - As Repulse-san says, 12 CAMM at bow, 12 CAMM amidship. - A 57 mm gun at bow, and 2x 30 mm guns aside the hangar. - no Phalanx CIWS - 2 small radomes on the mizzen mast is the CAMM data links? - ~1m extension astern on the fl...

Interesting development in the FFG(X) program that might have T26 implications So LM aren't doing the competitive design stage, but that doesn't stop them bidding for the final build contract, and they could bid the T26. Is that right? Except they've very clearly said they just want to stay in the ...

Interesting development in the FFG(X) program that might have T26 implications:

https://news.usni.org/2019/05/28/lockhe ... gx-contest

There will be more motion with a CAMM silo up forward on a smaller ship (Type23 for example), but I accept that vertical movement of the silo may need to be taken into account against the height at which the "cold launch" ends and the missile propellant ignites. Forward movement of the sh...

I've been thinking about the possible fitting of CAMM on the QEC and it's possible location(s). It would seem that the only sensible location for a silo to be sited would be on the Stern (to Starboard, at the angle) where a fourth Phalanx, as suggested by some would most likely be fitted. In this l...

I won't bother rising to that but why - quiet a few on here have been proposing a 130 metre Leander based design and just because that doesn't happen to be your view doesn't mean it isn't worthy of debate. Actually the results come out at almost exactly the same dimensions as the current Type 23 wh...

With a new PM & CoE, I wonder if the crappy NSS, & the Type 31 that it spawned, will survive. My guess is that this board would overwhelmingly vote in favor of their demise. Babcocks & CL shareholders not so much.

Broad Beamed Leander anyone? :mrgreen: Just done the maths on this , given that the Leander design is based purely on CAD as opposed to Arrowhead 140 which is an actual ship logic would suggest is that all they would need to do is take the existing CAD and multiply everything by 1.2. This would giv...

Mixing in personal opinion with quotes from an authoritative article is intellectual dishonesty.

For what it is worth, a contributor to ARSE who has demonstrated his access to inside info, has hinted that Leander's beam precludes it from carrying some kit that they would one day like to enable on the T31's. This was in response to a comment that Leander seemed a slam dunk for the competition ba...

NavalNews video interview with BAE Inc from SAS2019 on their Mk45 Mod 4/62 5"/127mm main gun with the Italian Leonardo Vulcano round. Mk45 current ballistic ammo has a current max range of 13nm / ~24km, BAE Inc looked at various alternatives but went with the Vulcano as had the longest max ran...

shark bait wrote:I'm glad the DIT recognise this, if only the MOD would follow suit. Unfortunately the MOD prefer to believe the world wants cheap patrol frigates built in England because that's more convenient for their budget.

That made me laugh out loud