The S & T classes had 5 tubes as with the 2001 array on the "chin" position you could not have the classic 6 parallel tubes that previous classes had. The previous classes 2001 array was on the "forehead " position so the tubes were below them. On the S & T boats there w...

Thanks Shark Bait.

Well Armchair Soldier, if you magnify the picture of the OPV, with my magic glasses, I can clearly see that the Merlin has got 2 pairs of the Lockheed LRASM or is it the Kingsberg NSM hanging off the wings, Looks really nice to me.

I was just wondering (it's my middle name) when QE is fully operational what is the maximum effective F35 load? The hangar can hold 24 aircraft so with 36 on board (love to see that :roll: ) is that the answer. Obviously you could load the deck but then QE would become a transporter rather than a ca...

Can the boats be fully loaded with Tomahawks eg 10 torps +28 Tomahawk? I believe that any combination of Spearfish and Tomahawk can fit into the Astute's weapons handling system. Possibly on the Trafalgars too. Thanks for that Gabriele, enjoy reading your blog. So the Astute does appear to have a s...

I agree that they should have had a hangar and seem (nearly) large enough to have one. Well at least we know they will have a radar, is this the same as the other OPVs?
http://navaltoday.com/2015/04/15/royal- ... -new-opvs/

I believe the T23 upgrade plans have been carefully thought out to minimise costs and keep the 2 shipyards busy. For the Seawolf B2 upgrade only 11 ships will be fitted. The remaining 2, Monmouth & Iron Duke, will be the first to be fitted with CAMM in 2016. For the CAMM upgrade the Artisan 997 ...

It was the UK that gave the pump jet technology and other stuff to the US Navy. Just thinking about the relative capability improvement of the 7x Astute class over the 7xT-boats. The Astute class will spend less time in refits as the PWR2 Core H lasts for the life of the boats compared to the older ...

SDL wrote:Darn it Arfah... Now you've got me wondering that statistic...

Well with a full complement of 1,679 crew eating 4xsausages & mash once per week over a 90 day period and a standard sausage length of 10cm, I estimate that the length of sausages consumed would be 86.34km.

Gosh I didn't know we were buying 4x Jumbo jets for the carriers Why not buy Airbus A380 instead?

A news and discussion thread for one of our closest allies, the French. France Increases Defence Spending 'to Counter Extremism' French President Francois Hollande says defence spending will rise by nearly €4bn to tackle extremist threats "at home and overseas". .... He said the 2015 defe...

The upgraded Sea Wolf system will begin to be replaced, starting next year, with the cold launched CAMM missile. Initially the 32x Sea Wolf will be replaced in a straight 1 for 1 swop. Combined with the replacement of the old 996 radar with the new 3D 997 Artisan radar will give the T23 a significan...

How many frigates do we need , why isn't the right number 16 or 17 or even 20? With the reduction in the T45 from 12 to 8 to just 6 surely we need more than 13 frigates? Whatever the numbers we will have 2 versions of the T26 what should be loaded into the 24xMk41 silos? All Tomahawks for the GP an...

Ideally I think there should be 48 F35B for the FAA ... and 48 F35A for the RAF That will be the best part of £15billion of your finest nonexistent sterling taxpayer pounds, sir.[/quote] Think we need to find the money........and get the radar fitted -thanks SKB to QE pronto! http://www.bbc.co.uk/n...

How many frigates do we need , why isn't the right number 16 or 17 or even 20? With the reduction in the T45 from 12 to 8 to just 6 surely we need more than 13 frigates? That is a very good question - and one the UK government should ask more often (rather than "how many can we get rid of?&quo...

It wasn't so long ago that we had 12 T42 destroyers, 4 T22 frigates and 13 T23 frigates. It was obvious that to save costs cutting the 4 T22 frigates was the obvious choice. However the proposal to replace the T23 one for one with the T26 seems like an accountants approach for the RN. How many friga...

Link to the monthly ACA blog by the Managing Director: http://www.aircraftcarrieralliance.co.uk/delivering-the-nations-flagships/programme-director-blog/yr-2015/may-15/may-blog.aspx Overall very positive news :D ..HMS Prince of Wales – which is now more than 60% complete in terms of man hours spent ...

Hi desertswo have enjoyed your many comments on mp.net thank you for contributing - you have made me laugh many times with your straight forward 'this is how it is' approach! :lol: I am a civvie so tread carefully on these forums, tend to lurk more than comment. :roll: With our much smaller armed fo...

Another reduction in capacity with the Apache fleet reduced from 66 to just 50 aircraft which will be replaced/rebuilt. http://www.janes.com/article/50080/uk-mothballs-quarter-of-apache-fleet-with-end-of-afghan-ops I don't see how we can just buy the US version off the shelf if we want a marinised v...

A very informative article about the WR-21 gas turbine from 2003. Of course times have moved on with Rolls Royce introducing the MT30 repackaged to fit onto naval ships.
https://nippon.zaidan.info/seikabutsu/2 ... _os203.pdf

Type 45 midlife upgrades from 2025? The announced kit for the T26 includes the US Mk45 5″ gun, the US Mk41 missile silo and the Rolls Royce MT30 gas turbine fitted to the carriers. What do people think about a mid-life upgrade to the T45 to include these from 2025 when the T45 will be 15 years old a...

From Parliamentary answers. What is the issue with the C-130J? A joint UK-Australian study of the centre-wing box of the Hercules C-130J is in progress. Do we know if the 9 upgraded with external fuel tanks have the SAS equipment from the C-130K? Is it likely that some of the C-130J will be retained...

Good news item, new body armour, helmet, goggles, webbing. From the Mar issue of Desider: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/408343/desider_82_March2015.pdf After an intensive assessment phase of almost two years, DE&S has committed to buy 9,000 Virtus syst...

Yet another dismal story of decline. I can understand when we had 4xT22 and 13xT23 frigates that the logical thing to do to cut costs was to drop an entire class hence the T22 were scrapped early. So by accident we are left with just 13 Type 23 frigates and the 'plan' now is to replace it with 13x T...

I think it was dreadful that the Astute programme was slowed down at a cost of £1.50bn rather than proceeding to build 8 boats. This situation now is surely dire since HMS Triumph is midway through refit while HMS Trenchant is in refit till end of this year. With HMS Talent back in port for repairs ...

How many light guns are in service with the British Army today? Would there be any prospect of replacing them with the M777 howitzer anytime? We have with the C17/A400M and Chinook aircraft able to transport the heavier M777.