The MOD's own strapline says it all: The Defence Secretary has announced the steel cut for new Type 26 frigates will be in summer 2017, subject to final contract negotiations . So... no actual dates, no actual numbers, no names and still no signed construction contract (yet)... What exactly was the ...

So, with sea trials approaching rapidly, who is planning to try and get there for her going under the bridges? CJ (if he is still around but not posting) I would assume. Anyone else? Would like to as I've walked her decks a couple of times but I'm not sure if I will be able to. Pompey is a better b...

2. Maintain SLOC to/from the UK and where necessary, through critical trade routes. Yikes! How big a navy do you need for that??? Again, this is scaled according to the effort: patrol UK waters, rebuild our ASW patrols in the North and Irish Sea and work with allies to secure choke points such as t...

High Level: 1. CASD (it underpins everything else which, IMHO, is really why 'reds' like Corbyn want to get rid of it) 2. Maintain SLOC to/from the UK and where necessary, through critical trade routes. 3. Project sea power, scaled according to the following set of criteria: - Deploy an independant ...

'Revenge' fits the bill as both a previous battleship and submarine name and it perfectly fits the purpose of the ships...

I also like other battleship names such as 'Indefatigable', 'Indomitable', and 'Vengeance'.

dmereifield wrote:Thanks for the update. Any escorts yet?

Diamond is "attached" to JEF(M) but I suspect not escorting it on a daily basis.

http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-la ... ties-again

Gentlemen, Ocean is not without helicopters. 820 Squadron have now embarked to replace the Merlins of 845 Squadron: http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-latest-activity/news/2016/october/13/161013-carriers-squadron-refreshed My guess is that the RN don't want to embark HC3s on Ocean for the duration...

There would also be a number of rotary aircraft required either aew asw etc. plus any added for mission focus that may be a significant number ,this should be considered as part of its aviation assets , sometimes the comments sound like the hangars will be empty , Absolutely, I believe we are expec...

September's monthly update is up...

http://www.aircraftcarrieralliance.co.u ... r-2016.pdf

New Forces TV video - discuss:

Ron5 wrote:Sorry to bug you Gabriele but how many F-35B's does the UK have firmly in order right now? and how many delivered? I think the total is supposed to be 16, is that right?

14x through to LRIP 9. Once LRIP 10 and 11 have been signed then the UK will be up to the 18x that the RAF will declare IOC with.

~UNiOnJaCk~ wrote:Seriously though, what is it with the RN and its submarines these past few years, especially the Astute Class?

Calm down Beatty! Seriously, have you recently read the number of published incidents involving the Trafalgar boats - including Talent damaging her fin during an argument with polar ice?!

Yes it was the forward end of the hangar I was referring to Enigmatically ;) Well done Pymes for guessing where I was referring to :D I think we were both equally surprised and impressed at the positioning and amount of armour plating used! I am so fortunate to have visited her twice during her con...

I have lovingly fondled some of the armour on HMS QE, however it was way above the waterline and I'm taking the prior excellent post along with personal experience, that the QE class are armoured in all the crucial places. I concur. I remember being impressed by the amount of armour built into the ...

Ron5 wrote:

Pymes75 wrote:Ninetyfifth

I don't know if you've had the chance but when you stand next to an F-35, you'll be surprised at the size. It's a big sucker. Needs space.

Oh, sure. It's just that we've forgotten what carriers with sponsons look like! It's been a while.

bobp wrote:More on the flight deck unveiling here

https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/images- ... irst-time/

Damn, there is a lot of desk space to port of the runway! It's one thing to know it in theory, but quite another to see it visibly in photos like that!

I would agree with pretty much everything your mystery poster says CJ. I'm now wondering who he is! I suspect I must have at least met him back then With respect to the alpha to delta designs, it is the way it tends to go: 1) produce fully compliant design 2) treasury scream at cost 3) Strip stuff ...

Shame we don't have Richard Beedall's excellent site to remind ourselves... It is a real shame that that website is gone, however, in case you weren't already aware, there is still quite a bit of it archived here: http://archive.is/navy-matters.beedall.com Thanks for the link. Unfortunately, it doe...

I think this is very definitive....courtesy of another forum. Awesome post, CJ. Many thanks for sharing. Without going through all the convolutions of the CVF Alpha to Delta design stages, some years later when the final concept had solidified the French were in the business of looking for the repl...

Monthly newsletter is up: http://www.aircraftcarrieralliance.co.uk/~/media/Files/A/Aircraft-Carrier-Alliance-V2/documents/programme-update/2016-weekly-comms/may-2016.pdf As is the MD's blog: http://www.aircraftcarrieralliance.co.uk/delivering-the-nations-flagships/programme-director-blog/yr-2016/may...

If you want to add SAMs, surely the easiest option (cheapest and lowest risk) is to mount SeaRAM in place of the Phalanx mounts? Still not convinced that the RN aren't more concerned about asymmetric threats such as explosive laden speedboats.... Pahalanx 1Bs are there for that purpose more than for...

ZM407 was delivered to Brize on Wednesday 11th May. 1/3 of the way there....

The T26 uses piston engines for the base load, and GT for the peak load, so even if the T26 was an IEP system it would not have the same problems as the T45. incidentally there is also nothing wrong with IEP, just our application of it was poor, which has scared people back to the super robust CODL...

Jdam wrote:Can anyone remember if they dropped the stern before or after the added all the sponsons on the Queen Elizabeth?

Yes. By my information they dropped the stern (sometime before 05/08/13) before lifting SP11 and SP12.

Answered by: Earl Howe The F-35 programme has delivered 179 aircraft to date, of which 53 are F-35B variants. There are currently no UK-owned F-35 aircraft flying in the UK. To date, the UK has ordered eight F-35B aircraft of which four have been delivered and are flying in the US. By April 2017 th...