The latter class of larger OPV's wouldn't be frontline escorts and could well be commercial builds with some of the cheaper improvements frlom the military designs, with a mix of RN & RFA crew.

They, could be ;built in a vsi7

For me the 5009 and 4008 are to small and the smallest we should looking at is 75 meters I think 60m would be adequate for UK waters. Marine Scotland's FPV Minna is 42m and seems capable of handling patrol tasks around the Scottish Islands, out as far as Rockall. I do think there is scope for a cou...

T31 to be fitted with 32 MK41 cells - see link below for further details. A sensible decision. https://www.navylookout.com/royal-navys-type-31-frigates-to-be-fitted-with-mk41-vertical-launch-system/ That is potentially great news. The Navy lookout article comments that the T31 were being built with...

The three LSDs would be sold…. Why? What can a Prevail style LSS do better than a Bay LSS with a fixed hanger? I don’t necessarily disagree with your overall proposal but selling Bays to lease converted Points seems nuts. Please explain the rationale. Three reasons really: - New requirement: the Ba...

I can’t help but think that the MRSS program will go the way of the FSS, annually kicked another year out and then delayed even further with protracted contract discussions, ultimately then ending up with a fraction of what was originally planned. The world doesn’t wait, if a distributed forward ba...

Just CGI or a sign of things to come? https://des.mod.uk/type-31-contract-mission-test-integration-facility/ The wording of the final paragraph is interesting / a little concerning. Maybe nothing is meant by it but what leapt off the page for me is that there is no mention of a war-fighting role, c...

Just CGI or a sign of things to come? https://des.mod.uk/type-31-contract-mission-test-integration-facility/ The wording of the final paragraph is interesting / a little concerning. Maybe nothing is meant by it but what leapt off the page for me is that there is no mention of a war-fighting role, c...

tomuk wrote: ↑10 May 2023, 17:50 So who has done the best procurement job on their T26s? UK, Australia or Canada?

The UK has got four ships actually under construction. Don't think Aus or Can have yet started any?

I’m normally a big fan of the 57mm gun, but it would be better to replace the 30mm guns with 40mms and add the same 5” gun as the T26s. Would certainly help RN's logistics chain. The RN will shortly have the following 7 calibres: 5" = 127mm 4.5" = 114m 57mm 40mm 30mm 20mm 20mm Phalanx CIW...

I also think that recent conflicts including Russian invasion of Ukraine and Saudi-Houthi War have shown that you need a variety of GBAD to counter the wide variety of missiles, munitions and drones that are bing used. Where drones can cost in thousands, not worth using anti-aircraft missiles costin...

Before everyone starts panicking about the NSBS, please note that the ship is owned by Seagull Maritime and leased to the FI Government, not HMG (yes, the BOT's own their own stuff & have been known to pay for them out of their own revenue). Presumably this is paid for out of the license fees f...

Do we want to lose our global amphib capability ? No but D-Day Mk2 isn’t happening either so realistically what will ever be used in a REAL conflict, not just an exercise. What the IR will throw up in terms of the FCF is nothing as it is still in play After how many years now? The transition of RM ...

The type 31 is for maritime security and escort tasks which is the main focus of a maritime state, why would we want to turn it into some sort of land attack platform. Why wouldn't we? Exactly - especially as the T31 are likely to be deployedand sailing in Littoral Areas either around potential fla...

The more I have been reading up on the various efforts of US / European nations to bring home their national citizens from Sudan (the UK latest news I saw is that HMS Lancaster has arrived at Port Sudan to help with transporting any UK Nationals in the northern coastal region of Sudan to offer an al...

Here is my attempt at what is achievable by 2026 with a slightly increasing budget per annum. Reorganisation of UK Land/Maritime Forces by 2026 [/b] (Gradual 0.1% increase per annum to 2.5% GDP by 2026.) Main Changes: - Invest majority of rising defence budget in Army/RN/RM/RFA recruitment and rete...

Hence why I like to see two additional RN vessels: firstly an IPS Artic, able to cover MROSS tasks surveying and patrolling our underseas cables in the Artic, and secondly a Patrol Vessel for BOT's Ascencion Island / St Helena / Tristan de Cunha. And tying it back into the main topic title, each of ...

Really we need to rethink our areas of operation and have commands for them something like Home North Atlantic fleet / Europe 2 x Carriers , 1 x LHD , 3 x LPD , 6 x T-45 , 8 x T-26 , 2 x T-31 , 2 x OPV's Indian Ocean / Gulf 1 x LHD , 4 x T-31 , 2 x OPV's South Atlantic 2 x T-31 , 2 x OPV's That is ...

For the South Pole we have the twenty year old HMS Protector (as well as the newer civilian research vessel RRS SDA). So IMO a 2nd RN IPS is less urgent RRS SDA is not a military or constabulary vessel, it is a polar research vessel, let’s put that to bed now as muddying the waters in this area cou...

Saw on thir twitter feed that remaining blue and white colour rather than RN grey.

Within current funding plus a net injection of @£200mn. Thanks. Interesting proposal. The Ice ship issue is interesting as patrolling the High North is going to become a hot topic over the next few decades. When an IPS is discussed the overwhelming opinion is simply to build more RRS SDA(s) but is ...

Not sure on the EPF for the UK - too large and vulnerable IMO. EPF is 1500t dsiplacement and 103.0m length. How small are you intending to go? Are you envisaging a landing ship that will travel all the way from UK to Baltic? Or a landing boat that can be carried by the RN's LPD / LSD and dropped of...

One thing that is interesting to note is that Norway, Sweden and Finland all have a number of small fast boat and landing ship classes to allow fast / agile navigation of their various coastlines and lakes. To be effective in the Nordic geography the UK needs similar. Yes - I tried to make this poi...

- A company sized LRG in Gibraltar concentrating on West Africa and the Med seems sensible likewise a similar sized force based in Singapore would appear appropriate without being overly aggressive. Off topic (sort of), but perhaps the Parachute Regiment needs to follow the RM lead, a FPF perhaps. ...

Finland being admitted to NATO. and hopefully Sweden soon to follow, will change things for both RM and British Army. Previously we had the key task of leading any amphibious reinforcement along Norway's long thin country (along with Dutch & Danish etc), whilst being a key part of ASW operations...

I’ve often wondered if the UK needs a Purple version of the USMC focused solely on expeditionary power projection that would include the Army, RAF and RNs elements joined into a coherent structure. You mean like when the Navy owned its aircraft and marines? Not that long ago. I agree 100% it should...