Royal Navy in the 21st century
Encyclopedia
At the beginning of the 1990s, the Royal Navy
was a force designed for the Cold War
- with its three small aircraft carrier
s and a force of anti-submarine
frigate
s and destroyer
s, its main purpose was to search for and destroy Soviet submarines
in the North Atlantic
. The 1982 Falklands War
proved a need for the Royal Navy to maintain an expeditionary capability
.
However, since the end of the Cold war in the early 1990s, the Royal Navy has been forced to make an ever increasing number of commitments, while suffering a gradual reduction in the size of its surface fleet. Recent cuts have seen the retirement of the Sea Harrier with the Royal Navy sharing the Royal Air Force's
Harrier GR7/GR9, until 2010, when the Harrier GR7/GR9 was retired. Until delivery of the Joint Combat Aircraft
(F-35
) and the Queen Elizabeth-class carriers Britain will have no carrier strike capability. Cuts have also seen the early paying-off of three Type 23 frigate
s.
Over the course of the 1990s and the 2000s, the navy has begun a series of projects to improve its fleet, with a view to providing enhanced capabilities, although many of these have been cut or cancelled. This has led to the replacement of smaller and more numerous units with fewer, but larger, units. The main examples of this are the replacement of Type 42 destroyer
s with half as many Type 45s
and the confirmed replacement of the three 20,000 tonne Invincible-class aircraft carriers
with two 65,000 tonne Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers.
There are currently 8 ships and submarines under construction: four Astute-class submarines
(boats 3-6), the final two Type 45 destroyers (ships 5 & 6), and the two Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers, which began construction in July 2009 and May 2011. Preparatory and design work has begun on the Type 26 frigate programme, which will replace the existing frigate fleet from 2020, as well as a (now separate) scheme to replace a large number of the Royal Navy's minor vessels.
A major source of naval power projection
is the aircraft carrier. The one remaining ship of the Invincible class has limited capabilities, due not only to her small size, but also to the retirement in 2010 of the main type of aircraft on board - the Harrier GR7/GR9. In the 1998 Strategic Defence Review
the Ministry of Defence announced that it would replace the Invincible class with a pair of much larger vessels of the Queen Elizabeth class, in a project that was originally designated as "CVF" (Carrier Vessel Future).
These two ships, Queen Elizabeth and Prince of Wales, were ordered in 2007 and will each displace approximately 65,000 tonnes and be some 280 metres long, making them the largest vessels ever operated by the Royal Navy. They will operate the F-35 Lightning II
Joint Combat Aircraft
, which is planned for both the Fleet Air Arm and the Royal Air Force
to replace the Harrier.
They will also operate the Merlin ASW
helicopter, and a platform for Maritime Airborne Surveillance and Control (MASC), among the contenders for which are a modified version of the Merlin, the E-2 Hawkeye
or a modified version of the V-22 Osprey
.
The Royal Navy began looking at ways of replacing the small and dated Type 42 air defence destroyers in the mid-1980s. After two failed collaborative efforts - the NFR-90
project and Project Horizon (in association with France
and Italy
), the government decided that a new class of destroyer
, the Type 45
, would replace them.
Type 45 destroyers displace approximately 7350 tonnes, which is considerably larger than their predecessors, and they are the largest combat ships (except aircraft carriers and amphibious vessels) built since the Tiger class
of the mid 1950s. For its primary mission, it is equipped with the Sea Viper
integrated anti-aircraft system. As with the Type 42, the Type 45 will also have a limited anti-surface/anti-submarine role, being equipped with a 4.5in gun and a helicopter, which can be either a Lynx
, Lynx Wildcat
or Merlin.
Although they have not initially been fitted with anti-ship or land attack missiles, their size allows upgrades to be made if required, giving it an enhanced multi-role capability. Type 45s have a crew of 190, around one hundred less than the Type 42. Together with the larger size of the vessel, this allows for much better living quarters.
The first unit of the class, Daring
was launched in February 2006, handed over to the MoD
in December 2008 and commissioned in July 2009. The second, Dauntless
, was commissioned on 3 June 2010, while the third, Diamond
, began sea trials on 10 September 2009. The three remaining units, Dragon
, Defender
and Duncan
are, , in various stages of fitting out.
, three Type 42s remain in service; Liverpool
, Edinburgh
and York
. These will be withdrawn as the Type 45s enter service.
In November 2010, the class saw its first firing of the ships' primary weapon, the Sea Viper SAM. HMS Dauntless, the 2nd ship of the class, had the honour of firing Sea Viper in the Outer Hebrides. The launch(es) went ahead without fault and the weapon should be declared operational in the near future.
, eight of the Type 23s are to be refitted and equipped with the highly capable Type 2087
towed-array sonar.
BAE Systems at the request of the MoD, is under a 4 year contract to design the Type 26 Global Combat Ship (Type 26 frigate) formerly known as the Future Surface Combatant
programme.
This had crystallised into the three requirements - C1, C2 and C3:
The October 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review
(SDSR) outlined a total frigate force of 13 Type 23 frigates and the decommissioning of the 4 remaining Type 22 frigates. The SDSR further plans to replace the 13 Type 23 frigates with the new Type 26 frigate. The first Type 26 will enter service in 2020 and will start replacing older, non-upgraded, Type 23s.
The MCM, Hydrographic and Patrol Capability is stated to complete the future surface fleet. MHPC, previously known as C3, will replace a number of existing patrol, survey and minehunter
vessels.
The Navy's surveying service has responsibility for surveying and charting the oceans, the information from which goes into the numerous Admiralty
produced charts and publications that are used all over the world. As a consequence, the work that the service does must be as accurate as possible, which requires the best equipment available.
The Royal Navy has a mandate to provide support to the British Antarctic Survey
(BAS), which comes in the form of the dedicated Antarctic Patrol Ship. However, in 1990, HMS Endurance
was over 30 years old and, having been repaired following collision with an iceberg
, was found to be unsafe to return to the Antarctic
. The vessel that was chosen to replace her was chartered from a Norwegian
shipping company and commissioned as HMS Polar Circle. After a successful deployment, it was decided to purchase the ship outright, and she was renamed in honour of her predecessor. The new Endurances mission is twofold: to assist the BAS in charting and surveying the waters around the Antarctic (a task for which she is well suited thanks to her strengthened bow), and to provide a semi-permanent naval presence in the South Atlantic in support of the Atlantic Patrol Task (South) deployment. Endurance suffered severe flooding in early 2008 and as of May 2010 is in Portsmouth awaiting repairs. Press speculation suggests she may be scrapped as a result of the 2010 Strategic Defence Review. Initially, Endurance was replaced by Scott
; however, Scott was limited in the locations it could proceed to by its lack of icebreaking capability. As a consequence, a Norwegian icebreaker was chartered in 2011 for three years and named as HMS Protector.
The navy's oceangoing survey needs were served by the four ships of the Hecla class
, all built in the 1960s and 70s. Two were paid off in the late 1980s, while HMS Hecla
left the service in 1997. She was replaced by the brand new survey vessel HMS Scott
. Scott is the largest ocean survey vessel in Western Europe
and, at over 13,000 tonnes, was at the time the seventh largest vessel in the Royal Navy (only the three carriers and three amphibious vessels displaced more).By 2011 Scott was the fifth largest vessel in the Royal Navy, after Ocean, Illustrious, Albion and Bulwark Despite replacing four ships with only one, Scott is able to spend over 300 days a year at sea, thanks to its crew rotation system, whereby the total complement of 63 is divided into three teams - two man the ship, while the third remains ashore on leave or in training and rotating back on board when the ship returns. In 2009 Scott deployed to the South Atlantic and Antarctic in place of the unservicable Endurance.
In addition to Scott and following the early decommissioning of HMS Roebuck
in 2010, the remainder of the survey fleet has been replaced by the two brand new multi-role ships of the Echo class, which commissioned in 2002 and 2003. HMS Echo
and HMS Enterprise
build on the success of the Scott by utilising similar methods of operation and technology. These ships are joined in service by the smallest commissioned vessel in the RN, the survey launch HMS Gleaner
.
In the early 1990s, the Royal Navy's submarine force was already in the process of being upgraded. The Trafalgar-class
SSNs, fitted with an ultra quiet pump-jet
propulsion system, were still entering service, while the first of the Vanguard-class
SSBNs was close to completion. Today, the modernisation of the Royal Navy's submarine force centres on the Astute-class
SSNs and the Swiftsure & Trafalgar Update Final Phase (S&TUFP). In 1997, an order was placed for three units of the Astute class, which was designed as the SSN replacement for the Swiftsure class
, with an option for a further two. The fourth boat was ordered in 2007, with boats number 5 and 6 being authorised in April 2010. Eight boats were the official target until 2008; now the MOD officially plans to acquire seven Astute-class submarines: it remains to be seen if this target will be maintained and reached despite the high demands on defence spending. The Defence Industrial Strategy
states that a 24 month build drumbeat is needed to maintain the long-term viability of the nuclear submarine building business in the UK.
However, under the Strategic Defence Review, the Astute-class boats, which are larger and quieter than the existing SSNs, will replace five unmodernised Swiftsure- and Trafalgar-class submarines. S&TUFP will see the remaining boats of the Trafalgar class upgraded, giving them similar combat capabilities to the Astute class.
In the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review, the UK Government reaffirmed its intention to procure 7 Astute'- class submarines.
The aircraft carrier
's major instrument of power projection is the carrier air group
. The larger the air group, the more tasks it can perform. The Invincible class, because of its small size, has only a limited capacity, and is only capable of operating STOVL aircraft, the Harrier GR7/GR9
. In 2006 the Sea Harrier was withdrawn from service. This saw the front line Sea Harrier squadron of the Fleet Air Arm
converting to the Harrier GR9, as part of the evolution of the Joint Force Harrier
concept. The Harrier's eventual replacement in both the RAF and the FAA is the F-35 Lightning II
Joint Combat Aircraft
. The F-35 will be a significant improvement over the Harrier, in terms of speed, range and weapon load. The UK had plans to order 138 F-35Bs for the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force
. The financial crisis led to the decision taken in the Strategic Defence and Security Review
to immediately withdraw the Harrier GR9 force in late 2010 along with HMS Ark Royal
, to reduce the total number of F-35s planned for purchase by the UK, and to purchase the F-35C CATOBAR
version rather than the STOVL
F-35B. This will tie in with the decision to build HMS Queen Elizabeth in a CATOBAR configuration. However, it will also mean that the Fleet Air Arm will not operate fixed wing aircraft at sea for up to ten years.
The anti-surface/anti-submarine mission remains the purview of rotary aircraft; in small ships this is the updated Mk8 version of the Lynx. The Future Lynx program has seen 28 of the new helicopters, baptized the AW159 Wildcat Lynx, ordered for the Royal Navy. However, in the carriers and in later frigates, the larger Merlin helicopter is used - this has replaced the Sea King in the ASW mission. There are 44 Merlin helicopters in service, and an upgrade plan to increase their flexibility of use is planned. The Sea King HC4 remains in the commando assault mission from HMS Ocean
. In late 2009 it was announced that the Fleet Air Arm would lose its remaining Sea King helicopters, their place being taken by Merlins transferred from the RAF.
Merlin is also being touted as a replacement for Sea King ASaC7 in the Maritime Airborne Surveillance and Control (formerly Airborne Early Warning) mission, carrying the same Cerberus radar suite. However, the limitations of using a helicopter in this role are well documented - endurance is limited, service ceiling is low and vibrations from the rotors may cause distortion. Therefore, two other concepts have been put forward: a MASC version of the V-22 Osprey
tiltrotor
aircraft and the acquisition of the American E-2 Hawkeye
embarked AEW aircraft.
The V-22 was seen an attractive option for the original STOVL configuration of CVF. It combined the VTOL
aspects of a helicopter with the endurance of a fixed wing aircraft. The E-2 is already in service with the French and US Navies. It has advantages over the V-22 again in terms of endurance and ceiling; because its cabin is pressurised, it can operate at greater altitude than the Merlin, extending the range of its radar.
The Strategic Defence and Security Review
states that the Royal Navy will operate two types of helicopter in the future - the AW101 Merlin and the AW159 Wildcat.
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
was a force designed for the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
- with its three small aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
s and a force of anti-submarine
Anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare is a branch of naval warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, or other submarines to find, track and deter, damage or destroy enemy submarines....
frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
s and destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
s, its main purpose was to search for and destroy Soviet submarines
Soviet Navy
The Soviet Navy was the naval arm of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy would have played an instrumental role in a Warsaw Pact war with NATO, where it would have attempted to prevent naval convoys from bringing reinforcements across the Atlantic Ocean...
in the North Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
. The 1982 Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
proved a need for the Royal Navy to maintain an expeditionary capability
Blue-water navy
The term blue-water navy is a colloquialism used to describe a maritime force capable of operating across the deep waters of open oceans. While what actually constitutes such a force remains undefined, there is a requirement for the ability to exercise sea control at wide ranges...
.
However, since the end of the Cold war in the early 1990s, the Royal Navy has been forced to make an ever increasing number of commitments, while suffering a gradual reduction in the size of its surface fleet. Recent cuts have seen the retirement of the Sea Harrier with the Royal Navy sharing the Royal Air Force's
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
Harrier GR7/GR9, until 2010, when the Harrier GR7/GR9 was retired. Until delivery of the Joint Combat Aircraft
Joint Combat Aircraft
The Joint Combat Aircraft is the official designation of the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence used for the F-35 Lightning II, formerly the Joint Strike Fighter, and the result of the Joint Strike Fighter Program.-Programme history:...
(F-35
F-35 Lightning II
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is a family of single-seat, single-engine, fifth generation multirole fighters under development to perform ground attack, reconnaissance, and air defense missions with stealth capability...
) and the Queen Elizabeth-class carriers Britain will have no carrier strike capability. Cuts have also seen the early paying-off of three Type 23 frigate
Type 23 frigate
The Type 23 frigate is a class of frigate built for the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom. All the ships were first named after British Dukes, thus the class is also known as the Duke class. The first Type 23 was commissioned in 1989, and the sixteenth, was launched in May 2000 and commissioned in...
s.
Over the course of the 1990s and the 2000s, the navy has begun a series of projects to improve its fleet, with a view to providing enhanced capabilities, although many of these have been cut or cancelled. This has led to the replacement of smaller and more numerous units with fewer, but larger, units. The main examples of this are the replacement of Type 42 destroyer
Type 42 destroyer
The Type 42 or Sheffield class, are guided missile destroyers used by the British Royal Navy and the Argentine Navy. The first ship of the class was ordered in 1968 and launched in 1971, and today three ships remain active in the Royal Navy and one in the Argentinian Navy...
s with half as many Type 45s
Type 45 destroyer
The United Kingdom's Type 45 destroyer is an air defence destroyer programme of the Royal Navy which will replace its Type 42 destroyers. The first ship in the class, HMS Daring, was launched on 1 February 2006 and commissioned on 23 July 2009. The ships are now built by BAE Systems Surface Ships...
and the confirmed replacement of the three 20,000 tonne Invincible-class aircraft carriers
Invincible class aircraft carrier
The Invincible class is a class of light aircraft carrier operated by the British Royal Navy. Three ships were constructed, , and . The vessels were built as aviation-capable anti-submarine warfare platforms to counter the Cold War North Atlantic Soviet submarine threat, and initially embarked...
with two 65,000 tonne Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers.
There are currently 8 ships and submarines under construction: four Astute-class submarines
Astute class submarine
The Astute-class is the latest class of nuclear-powered fleet submarines in service with the Royal Navy. The class sets a new standard for the Royal Navy in terms of weapons load, communication facilities and stealth. The boats are being constructed by BAE Systems Submarine Solutions at...
(boats 3-6), the final two Type 45 destroyers (ships 5 & 6), and the two Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers, which began construction in July 2009 and May 2011. Preparatory and design work has begun on the Type 26 frigate programme, which will replace the existing frigate fleet from 2020, as well as a (now separate) scheme to replace a large number of the Royal Navy's minor vessels.
Aircraft carriers
Power projection
Power projection is a term used in military and political science to refer to the capacity of a state to conduct expeditionary warfare, i.e. to intimidate other nations and implement policy by means of force, or the threat thereof, in an area distant from its own territory.This ability is a...
is the aircraft carrier. The one remaining ship of the Invincible class has limited capabilities, due not only to her small size, but also to the retirement in 2010 of the main type of aircraft on board - the Harrier GR7/GR9. In the 1998 Strategic Defence Review
Strategic Defence Review
The Strategic Defence Review was a British policy document produced by the Labour Government that came to power in 1997. Then Secretary of State for Defence, George Robertson, set out the initial defence policy of the new government, with a series of key decisions designed to enhance the United...
the Ministry of Defence announced that it would replace the Invincible class with a pair of much larger vessels of the Queen Elizabeth class, in a project that was originally designated as "CVF" (Carrier Vessel Future).
These two ships, Queen Elizabeth and Prince of Wales, were ordered in 2007 and will each displace approximately 65,000 tonnes and be some 280 metres long, making them the largest vessels ever operated by the Royal Navy. They will operate the F-35 Lightning II
F-35 Lightning II
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is a family of single-seat, single-engine, fifth generation multirole fighters under development to perform ground attack, reconnaissance, and air defense missions with stealth capability...
Joint Combat Aircraft
Joint Combat Aircraft
The Joint Combat Aircraft is the official designation of the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence used for the F-35 Lightning II, formerly the Joint Strike Fighter, and the result of the Joint Strike Fighter Program.-Programme history:...
, which is planned for both the Fleet Air Arm and the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
to replace the Harrier.
They will also operate the Merlin ASW
Anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare is a branch of naval warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, or other submarines to find, track and deter, damage or destroy enemy submarines....
helicopter, and a platform for Maritime Airborne Surveillance and Control (MASC), among the contenders for which are a modified version of the Merlin, the E-2 Hawkeye
E-2 Hawkeye
The Grumman E-2 Hawkeye is an American all-weather, aircraft carrier-capable tactical airborne early warning aircraft. This twin-turboprop aircraft was designed and developed during the late 1950s and early 1960s by the Grumman Aircraft Company for the United States Navy as a replacement for the...
or a modified version of the V-22 Osprey
V-22 Osprey
The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is an American multi-mission, military, tiltrotor aircraft with both a vertical takeoff and landing , and short takeoff and landing capability...
.
Destroyers
The Royal Navy began looking at ways of replacing the small and dated Type 42 air defence destroyers in the mid-1980s. After two failed collaborative efforts - the NFR-90
NFR-90
NFR-90 was a multi-national programme designed to produce a common frigate for several NATO nations. However, the varying requirements of the different countries led to the project being abandoned in the early 1990s....
project and Project Horizon (in association with France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
), the government decided that a new class of destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
, the Type 45
Type 45 destroyer
The United Kingdom's Type 45 destroyer is an air defence destroyer programme of the Royal Navy which will replace its Type 42 destroyers. The first ship in the class, HMS Daring, was launched on 1 February 2006 and commissioned on 23 July 2009. The ships are now built by BAE Systems Surface Ships...
, would replace them.
Type 45 destroyers displace approximately 7350 tonnes, which is considerably larger than their predecessors, and they are the largest combat ships (except aircraft carriers and amphibious vessels) built since the Tiger class
Tiger class cruiser
The Tiger-class helicopter cruisers were the first of such a type in the Royal Navy, and the last cruisers built for the Royal Navy. They were originally designed to be Minotaur-class light cruisers...
of the mid 1950s. For its primary mission, it is equipped with the Sea Viper
PAAMS
The Principal Anti Air Missile System is a joint French/Italian/British programme for a naval anti-aircraft weapon. The prime contractor is EUROPAAMS, a joint venture between Eurosam and MBDA subsidiary UKAMS . MBDA also owns 66% of Eurosam, in effect giving it a 77% share of the project...
integrated anti-aircraft system. As with the Type 42, the Type 45 will also have a limited anti-surface/anti-submarine role, being equipped with a 4.5in gun and a helicopter, which can be either a Lynx
Westland Lynx
The Westland Lynx is a British multi-purpose military helicopter designed and built by Westland Helicopters at its factory in Yeovil. Originally intended as a utility craft for both civil and naval usage, military interest led to the development of both battlefield and naval variants...
, Lynx Wildcat
AgustaWestland AW159
|-See also:-External links:* * . Flight International, 29 March 2005.* . Flightglobal.com, 9 Oct. 2007.* . Flight International, 12 Dec. 2008....
or Merlin.
Although they have not initially been fitted with anti-ship or land attack missiles, their size allows upgrades to be made if required, giving it an enhanced multi-role capability. Type 45s have a crew of 190, around one hundred less than the Type 42. Together with the larger size of the vessel, this allows for much better living quarters.
The first unit of the class, Daring
HMS Daring (D32)
HMS Daring is the lead ship of the Type 45 or 'D' class of air defence destroyer in the Royal Navy and the seventh ship to hold that name.She was launched in 2006 on the Clyde and conducted contractor's sea trials during 2007 and 2008...
was launched in February 2006, handed over to the MoD
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
in December 2008 and commissioned in July 2009. The second, Dauntless
HMS Dauntless (D33)
HMS Dauntless is the second ship of the Type 45 class of air defence destroyer built for the Royal Navy...
, was commissioned on 3 June 2010, while the third, Diamond
HMS Diamond (D34)
HMS Diamond is the third ship of the Type 45 or 'D' class of air defence destroyer built for the Royal Navy. She was launched in 2007, completed her contractor's sea trials in July 2010 and arrived at her base port on 22 September 2010...
, began sea trials on 10 September 2009. The three remaining units, Dragon
HMS Dragon (D35)
HMS Dragon is the fourth ship of the Type 45 or 'D' class of air defence destroyers that has been built for the Royal Navy. She was launched in November 2008 and is currently conducting Stage 1 trials...
, Defender
HMS Defender (D36)
HMS Defender is the fifth ship of the Type 45 or 'D' class of air defence destroyer built for the Royal Navy. Construction of Defender began in 2006, and she was launched in 2009...
and Duncan
HMS Duncan (D37)
HMS Duncan is the sixth ship of the Type 45 or 'D' class of air defence destroyer planned to be built for the Royal Navy. Duncan is named after Adam Duncan, Viscount Duncan of Camperdown , who defeated the Dutch fleet at the Battle of Camperdown on 11 October 1797.-Construction:Duncans...
are, , in various stages of fitting out.
, three Type 42s remain in service; Liverpool
HMS Liverpool (D92)
HMS Liverpool is a Type 42 destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was built by Cammell Laird in Birkenhead and launched on 25 September 1980 by Lady Strathcona, wife of Euan Howard, the then Minister of State for Defence. Liverpool is the last Batch 2 Type 42 in service.-Operational history:Liverpool was...
, Edinburgh
HMS Edinburgh (D97)
HMS Edinburgh is a Type 42 destroyer of the Royal Navy. Edinburgh was built by Cammell Laird of Birkenhead. She was launched on 14 April 1983 and commissioned on the 17 December 1985...
and York
HMS York (D98)
HMS York is a Batch III Type 42 destroyer of the Royal Navy. Launched on 20 June 1982 at Wallsend, Tyne and Wear and sponsored by Lady Gosling, HMS York was the last Type 42 built. The ship's crest is the White Rose of York, and the "red cross with lions passant" funnel badge is derived from the...
. These will be withdrawn as the Type 45s enter service.
In November 2010, the class saw its first firing of the ships' primary weapon, the Sea Viper SAM. HMS Dauntless, the 2nd ship of the class, had the honour of firing Sea Viper in the Outer Hebrides. The launch(es) went ahead without fault and the weapon should be declared operational in the near future.
Frigates
The majority of the navy's escorts are thirteen Type 23sType 23 frigate
The Type 23 frigate is a class of frigate built for the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom. All the ships were first named after British Dukes, thus the class is also known as the Duke class. The first Type 23 was commissioned in 1989, and the sixteenth, was launched in May 2000 and commissioned in...
, eight of the Type 23s are to be refitted and equipped with the highly capable Type 2087
Sonar 2087
Sonar 2087 is a towed array sonar system for Royal Navy Type 23 frigates manufactured by Thales Underwater Systems.Sonar 2087 has replaced the Sonar 2031 towed array. The introduction of this advanced new Sonar has significantly enhanced the anti submarine warfare capability of the Royal Navy...
towed-array sonar.
BAE Systems at the request of the MoD, is under a 4 year contract to design the Type 26 Global Combat Ship (Type 26 frigate) formerly known as the Future Surface Combatant
Future Surface Combatant
The Global Combat Ship is a ship design and construction programme currently underway by the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence to replace the Royal Navy's 13 Type 23 frigates. The programme has been in development since 1998, initially under the designation "Future Surface Combatant "...
programme.
This had crystallised into the three requirements - C1, C2 and C3:
- C1 (Type xx) - an Anti Submarine Warfare task group enabled platform
- C2 (Type xx) - a more general purpose platform
- C3 (Global Corvette) to replace a larger number of smaller vessel classes, such as minesweepers, patrol and survey ships.
The October 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review
Strategic Defence and Security Review
The Strategic Defence and Security Review was announced by the newly formed Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government of the United Kingdom in May 2010, and published on 19 October 2010...
(SDSR) outlined a total frigate force of 13 Type 23 frigates and the decommissioning of the 4 remaining Type 22 frigates. The SDSR further plans to replace the 13 Type 23 frigates with the new Type 26 frigate. The first Type 26 will enter service in 2020 and will start replacing older, non-upgraded, Type 23s.
The MCM, Hydrographic and Patrol Capability is stated to complete the future surface fleet. MHPC, previously known as C3, will replace a number of existing patrol, survey and minehunter
Minehunter
Minehunters are mine countermeasure vessels that actively detect and destroy individual naval mines. Minesweepers, on the other hand, clear mined areas as a whole, without prior detection of mines...
vessels.
Hydrographic Squadron
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
produced charts and publications that are used all over the world. As a consequence, the work that the service does must be as accurate as possible, which requires the best equipment available.
The Royal Navy has a mandate to provide support to the British Antarctic Survey
British Antarctic Survey
The British Antarctic Survey is the United Kingdom's national Antarctic operation and has an active role in Antarctic affairs. BAS is part of the Natural Environment Research Council and has over 400 staff. It operates five research stations, two ships and five aircraft in and around Antarctica....
(BAS), which comes in the form of the dedicated Antarctic Patrol Ship. However, in 1990, HMS Endurance
HMS Endurance (1967)
HMS Endurance was a Royal Navy ice patrol vessel that served from 1967 to 1991. She came to public notice when she was involved in the Falklands War of 1982.-Service history:...
was over 30 years old and, having been repaired following collision with an iceberg
Iceberg
An iceberg is a large piece of ice from freshwater that has broken off from a snow-formed glacier or ice shelf and is floating in open water. It may subsequently become frozen into pack ice...
, was found to be unsafe to return to the Antarctic
Antarctic
The Antarctic is the region around the Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica and the ice shelves, waters and island territories in the Southern Ocean situated south of the Antarctic Convergence...
. The vessel that was chosen to replace her was chartered from a Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
shipping company and commissioned as HMS Polar Circle. After a successful deployment, it was decided to purchase the ship outright, and she was renamed in honour of her predecessor. The new Endurances mission is twofold: to assist the BAS in charting and surveying the waters around the Antarctic (a task for which she is well suited thanks to her strengthened bow), and to provide a semi-permanent naval presence in the South Atlantic in support of the Atlantic Patrol Task (South) deployment. Endurance suffered severe flooding in early 2008 and as of May 2010 is in Portsmouth awaiting repairs. Press speculation suggests she may be scrapped as a result of the 2010 Strategic Defence Review. Initially, Endurance was replaced by Scott
HMS Scott (H131)
HMS Scott is an ocean survey vessel of the Royal Navy, and the only vessel of her class. She is the third Royal Navy ship to carry the name, and the second to be named after the Antarctic explorer, Robert Falcon Scott. She was ordered to replace the survey ship HMS Hecla.-Construction:She was...
; however, Scott was limited in the locations it could proceed to by its lack of icebreaking capability. As a consequence, a Norwegian icebreaker was chartered in 2011 for three years and named as HMS Protector.
The navy's oceangoing survey needs were served by the four ships of the Hecla class
Hecla class survey vessel
The Hecla class formed the backbone of the Royal Navy's ocean survey fleet from the mid-1960s. Three ships, , and , were ordered in the early 1960s to replace the aging survey ships and ....
, all built in the 1960s and 70s. Two were paid off in the late 1980s, while HMS Hecla
HMS Hecla (A133)
HMS Hecla was the lead ship of the Hecla class, an oceangoing survey ship type in the Royal Navy. She was ordered in the mid 1960s, along with her sisters ships and . A fourth ship, , was completed in the early 1970s. The ship served for thirty years in this role, and various others, before...
left the service in 1997. She was replaced by the brand new survey vessel HMS Scott
HMS Scott (H131)
HMS Scott is an ocean survey vessel of the Royal Navy, and the only vessel of her class. She is the third Royal Navy ship to carry the name, and the second to be named after the Antarctic explorer, Robert Falcon Scott. She was ordered to replace the survey ship HMS Hecla.-Construction:She was...
. Scott is the largest ocean survey vessel in Western Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and, at over 13,000 tonnes, was at the time the seventh largest vessel in the Royal Navy (only the three carriers and three amphibious vessels displaced more).By 2011 Scott was the fifth largest vessel in the Royal Navy, after Ocean, Illustrious, Albion and Bulwark Despite replacing four ships with only one, Scott is able to spend over 300 days a year at sea, thanks to its crew rotation system, whereby the total complement of 63 is divided into three teams - two man the ship, while the third remains ashore on leave or in training and rotating back on board when the ship returns. In 2009 Scott deployed to the South Atlantic and Antarctic in place of the unservicable Endurance.
In addition to Scott and following the early decommissioning of HMS Roebuck
HMS Roebuck
Fourteen ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Roebuck after a small deer native to the British Isles. was a flyboat purchased in 1585. was a 10-gun vessel launched in 1636 and sunk in 1641 as a result of a collision. was a 14-gun ship captured in 1646 and commissioned into the Royalist Navy...
in 2010, the remainder of the survey fleet has been replaced by the two brand new multi-role ships of the Echo class, which commissioned in 2002 and 2003. HMS Echo
HMS Echo (H87)
HMS Echo is the first of two multi-role hydrographic survey ships commissioned by the Royal Navy. With her sister ship, , they form the Echo class of survey vessels. She was built by Appledore Shipbuilders in Devon in 2002 and is the ninth Royal Navy vessel to carry the name.-Design:Echo and...
and HMS Enterprise
HMS Enterprise (H88)
HMS Enterprise, the tenth ship to bear this name, is a multi-role survey vessel - hydrographic oceanographic of the Royal Navy. She has a sister ship, , and together they make up the Echo class of survey vessels.-Design:...
build on the success of the Scott by utilising similar methods of operation and technology. These ships are joined in service by the smallest commissioned vessel in the RN, the survey launch HMS Gleaner
HMS Gleaner (H86)
HMSML Gleaner is the smallest commissioned vessel in the Royal Navy with a length of just under 15 meters and a ship's company of just 8 . Commanded by Lieutenant Commander John Winn, she is currently based in Devonport, Plymouth...
.
Submarines
Trafalgar class submarine
The Trafalgar class is a class of nuclear-powered fleet submarines in service with the Royal Navy. They are a direct follow on from the Swiftsure class and were, until the introduction of the Astute class, the Royal Navy's most advanced nuclear fleet submarines.Seven boats were built and...
SSNs, fitted with an ultra quiet pump-jet
Pump-jet
A pump-jet, hydrojet, or water jet, is a marine system that creates a jet of water for propulsion. The mechanical arrangement may be a ducted propeller with nozzle, or a centrifugal pump and nozzle...
propulsion system, were still entering service, while the first of the Vanguard-class
Vanguard class submarine
The Vanguard class are the Royal Navy's current nuclear ballistic missile submarines , each armed with up to 16 Trident II Submarine-launched ballistic missiles...
SSBNs was close to completion. Today, the modernisation of the Royal Navy's submarine force centres on the Astute-class
Astute class submarine
The Astute-class is the latest class of nuclear-powered fleet submarines in service with the Royal Navy. The class sets a new standard for the Royal Navy in terms of weapons load, communication facilities and stealth. The boats are being constructed by BAE Systems Submarine Solutions at...
SSNs and the Swiftsure & Trafalgar Update Final Phase (S&TUFP). In 1997, an order was placed for three units of the Astute class, which was designed as the SSN replacement for the Swiftsure class
Swiftsure class submarine
The Swiftsure class were a class of nuclear-powered fleet submarines in service with the Royal Navy from the early 1970s until 2010....
, with an option for a further two. The fourth boat was ordered in 2007, with boats number 5 and 6 being authorised in April 2010. Eight boats were the official target until 2008; now the MOD officially plans to acquire seven Astute-class submarines: it remains to be seen if this target will be maintained and reached despite the high demands on defence spending. The Defence Industrial Strategy
Defence Industrial Strategy
The Defence Industrial Strategy is a United Kingdom government policy which was published as a white paper on 15 December 2005. The purpose of the DIS is stated to be to ensure that the UK armed forces are provided with the equipment they require, on time, and at best value for money. This is...
states that a 24 month build drumbeat is needed to maintain the long-term viability of the nuclear submarine building business in the UK.
However, under the Strategic Defence Review, the Astute-class boats, which are larger and quieter than the existing SSNs, will replace five unmodernised Swiftsure- and Trafalgar-class submarines. S&TUFP will see the remaining boats of the Trafalgar class upgraded, giving them similar combat capabilities to the Astute class.
In the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review, the UK Government reaffirmed its intention to procure 7 Astute'- class submarines.
Fleet Air Arm
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
's major instrument of power projection is the carrier air group
Carrier air wing
A Carrier Air Wing is an operational naval aviation organization composed of several aircraft squadrons and detachments of various types of fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft...
. The larger the air group, the more tasks it can perform. The Invincible class, because of its small size, has only a limited capacity, and is only capable of operating STOVL aircraft, the Harrier GR7/GR9
RAF Harrier II
The British Aerospace/McDonnell Douglas Harrier II is a second-generation vertical/short takeoff and landing jet aircraft used previously by the Royal Air Force and, between 2006–2010, the Royal Navy. Derived from the McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II, which was a development of the Hawker...
. In 2006 the Sea Harrier was withdrawn from service. This saw the front line Sea Harrier squadron of the Fleet Air Arm
Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the British Royal Navy responsible for the operation of naval aircraft. The Fleet Air Arm currently operates the AgustaWestland Merlin, Westland Sea King and Westland Lynx helicopters...
converting to the Harrier GR9, as part of the evolution of the Joint Force Harrier
Joint Force Harrier
Joint Strike Wing, previously known as Joint Force Harrier, was the British military formation which controlled the STOVL Harrier aircraft of the Royal Air Force and Fleet Air Arm...
concept. The Harrier's eventual replacement in both the RAF and the FAA is the F-35 Lightning II
F-35 Lightning II
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is a family of single-seat, single-engine, fifth generation multirole fighters under development to perform ground attack, reconnaissance, and air defense missions with stealth capability...
Joint Combat Aircraft
Joint Combat Aircraft
The Joint Combat Aircraft is the official designation of the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence used for the F-35 Lightning II, formerly the Joint Strike Fighter, and the result of the Joint Strike Fighter Program.-Programme history:...
. The F-35 will be a significant improvement over the Harrier, in terms of speed, range and weapon load. The UK had plans to order 138 F-35Bs for the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
. The financial crisis led to the decision taken in the Strategic Defence and Security Review
Strategic Defence and Security Review
The Strategic Defence and Security Review was announced by the newly formed Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government of the United Kingdom in May 2010, and published on 19 October 2010...
to immediately withdraw the Harrier GR9 force in late 2010 along with HMS Ark Royal
HMS Ark Royal (R07)
HMS Ark Royal is a decommissioned light aircraft carrier and former flagship of the Royal Navy. She was the third and final vessel of Invincible-class...
, to reduce the total number of F-35s planned for purchase by the UK, and to purchase the F-35C CATOBAR
CATOBAR
CATOBAR is a system used for the launch and recovery of aircraft from the deck of an aircraft carrier...
version rather than the STOVL
STOVL
STOVL is an acronym for short take off and vertical landing.This is the ability of some aircraft to take off from a short runway or take off vertically if it does not have a very heavy payload and land vertically...
F-35B. This will tie in with the decision to build HMS Queen Elizabeth in a CATOBAR configuration. However, it will also mean that the Fleet Air Arm will not operate fixed wing aircraft at sea for up to ten years.
HMS Ocean (L12)
HMS Ocean of the Royal Navy is an amphibious assault ship , the sole member of her class. She is designed to support amphibious landing operations and to support the staff of Commander UK Amphibious Force and Commander UK Landing Force...
. In late 2009 it was announced that the Fleet Air Arm would lose its remaining Sea King helicopters, their place being taken by Merlins transferred from the RAF.
Merlin is also being touted as a replacement for Sea King ASaC7 in the Maritime Airborne Surveillance and Control (formerly Airborne Early Warning) mission, carrying the same Cerberus radar suite. However, the limitations of using a helicopter in this role are well documented - endurance is limited, service ceiling is low and vibrations from the rotors may cause distortion. Therefore, two other concepts have been put forward: a MASC version of the V-22 Osprey
V-22 Osprey
The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is an American multi-mission, military, tiltrotor aircraft with both a vertical takeoff and landing , and short takeoff and landing capability...
tiltrotor
Tiltrotor
A tiltrotor is an aircraft which uses a pair or more of powered rotors mounted on rotating shafts or nacelles at the end of a fixed wing for lift and propulsion, and combines the vertical lift capability of a helicopter with the speed and range of a conventional fixed-wing aircraft...
aircraft and the acquisition of the American E-2 Hawkeye
E-2 Hawkeye
The Grumman E-2 Hawkeye is an American all-weather, aircraft carrier-capable tactical airborne early warning aircraft. This twin-turboprop aircraft was designed and developed during the late 1950s and early 1960s by the Grumman Aircraft Company for the United States Navy as a replacement for the...
embarked AEW aircraft.
The V-22 was seen an attractive option for the original STOVL configuration of CVF. It combined the VTOL
VTOL
A vertical take-off and landing aircraft is one that can hover, take off and land vertically. This classification includes fixed-wing aircraft as well as helicopters and other aircraft with powered rotors, such as cyclogyros/cyclocopters and tiltrotors...
aspects of a helicopter with the endurance of a fixed wing aircraft. The E-2 is already in service with the French and US Navies. It has advantages over the V-22 again in terms of endurance and ceiling; because its cabin is pressurised, it can operate at greater altitude than the Merlin, extending the range of its radar.
The Strategic Defence and Security Review
Strategic Defence and Security Review
The Strategic Defence and Security Review was announced by the newly formed Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government of the United Kingdom in May 2010, and published on 19 October 2010...
states that the Royal Navy will operate two types of helicopter in the future - the AW101 Merlin and the AW159 Wildcat.
See also
- Global Combat Ship
- Future of the Royal Air ForceFuture of the Royal Air ForceThe planning for the future of the Royal Air Force involves supporting ongoing British military operations, the introduction of new aircraft types, greater focus on network enabled capability and increasing harmonisation with the American Armed Forces and those of Europe...
- British replacement of the Trident systemBritish replacement of the Trident systemThe British replacement of Trident is a proposal to replace the existing Vanguard class of four Trident ballistic-missile armed submarines with a new class designed to continue a nuclear deterrent after the current boats reach the end of their service lives...
- European Union defence procurement
- Type 26 frigates
- Future British Army Structure (Next Steps)