Current RN News and Updates

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UK announces major tender for maritime support in Cyprus

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has issued a tender notice for comprehensive marine base support services around the territorial waters of Cyprus, with a potential value ranging from £45 million to £48.5 million, inclusive of extension options.
This framework, published on 17 April 2024, outlines a contract duration from May 2024 to May 2026, with possibilities for further extension into 2028.

The services required are pivotal for the support of seagoing and associated military units in the region, including but not limited to, the provision of berthing allocation, pilot services, tug and mooring services, and customs clearance facilitation. Additional responsibilities encompass the secure handling and delivery of cash and other sensitive materials.

An essential part of this tender is the Statement of Requirements, which will be detailed at the Invitation to Tender stage. This will give potential bidders clear guidelines on the scope and specifications of the services needed.

According to the tender notice, the MOD may, at its sole discretion, extend the contract for two additional one-year periods, highlighting the strategic long-term importance of these services. This flexibility ensures that the MOD can maintain operational readiness and support in the dynamic maritime environment of Cyprus.

Potential bidders are advised that while the MOD has set out the expectations and scope of this tender, there is no guarantee of a contract being awarded. The notice emphasizes that no compensation will be offered if the tender or resulting contract is withdrawn for any reason, urging bidders to participate with a clear understanding of these terms.

This tender is part of the MOD’s ongoing efforts to enhance its operational capabilities overseas, especially in strategically important locations like Cyprus.

Source UKDJ

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Snapshot: The Royal Navy escort fleet in April 2024

In this article we summarise the current status of the RN’s surface combatants.

https://www.navylookout.com/snapshot-th ... pril-2024/

[Pelican]

Sir Humphrey
The MRSS isn't new, it has been a matter of public record for years. What will be interesting is whether the numbers planned / ordered align to original intention, or if they're reduced, helping make the future RN/RFA smaller than it is now.
https://www.ft.com/content/7f30e1e0-d27 ... pe=blocked

[Pelican]

Heres a graphic of the combined RN & RFA surface and sub surface fleets as presently planned and forecast by 2035 (only 10 years away now!)

Most of these ships are in service or in build or contracted for including the new SSS RFA ships. The exceptions as yet are the 6 Multi-Role (Littoral Combat) Support Ships (Replacing the Albion class, Argus and the Bay Class) the design of which has yet to be finalised but may well be full through deck helicopter carrier style with floodable aft dock for landing craft from 15-20K tonnes, The 5 T32 Frigate class ships will start build after the T31s are completed at the end of this decade assuming they are endorsed during SDSR25, and are expected to focus on mine warfare, and drone deployments of various kinds along with their General Purpose roles. The SSBN flotilla represents the likely situation in 2035 as the Vanguard class has been largely replaced by the Dreadnoughts by then. Missing altogether just now is any Autonomous Underwater Subs of which the RN has 2 projects running just now which are expected to supplement the SSN flotilla in due course and certainly by 2035. Other key features are the 2 MROS seabed warfare vessels (Proteus is first of class this year) and the 4 (planned) Autonomous Mine Counter Measure Mother Ships of which the first, Stirling Castle is entering service this year also. It is of note that the RFA is expanding its ship numbers into some key operational tasks (with RN expert task crew aboard) now to counter-balance the purely RN crewed ship reductions (mostly MCM vessels) between now and 2035. The RN's surface combatant vessel fleet is however planned to expand by at least 5 frigates.

Prospects beyond 2035 include the T45 replacement T83 anti-air destroyers (of which up to 8 are likely to be purchased) and the Astute SSN replacement programme based on the AUSUSUK sub programme between 2035 and 2055.

DA Simpson

[Pelican]

Adaptable Deck Launching System

http://baes.co/vJb450R8PE8

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MOD detail number of employees earning over £100k

In a detailed response to a Parliamentary question, Dr Andrew Murrison MP has provided clarity on the number of officials within the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) who have received annual gross earnings exceeding £100,000 since the financial year 2019-20.

https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/mod-det ... over-100k/

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Major £217m contract awarded to support Royal Navy

The Ministry of Defence has officially announced a significant contract award under the MSS/143—Multi-Supplier Framework for Marine Systems Support (MSS), which will bolster post-design and technical services across the Royal Navy’s platforms.
The framework, valued at £217 million, will engage a group of 28 suppliers to deliver support over the next seven years.

https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/major-2 ... oyal-navy/

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Ship to shore – new solutions for getting troops onto the beach


In January 2023 the Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) launched the Novel Amphibious Craft competition as a prelude to replacing the Royal Marines’ small landing craft. Here we look at one of the potential solutions – Steller Systems’ Offshore Insertion Craft concept.


Making it to the beach
For some time it has been obvious that traditional amphibious vessels and slow landing craft were no longer a viable option for landing troops or supplies in a contested environment. The proliferation of cheap weaponised drones and guided weapons makes it increasingly easier even for non-peer adversaries to defend a coastline. It is clear that the assault ship cannot safely loiter close to the shoreline and will have to launch ship-to-shore connectors potentially up to 100 miles or more away from the coast. This demands landing craft with greater speed, range, stealth and the ability to operate in high sea states.


The trusty LCVP (Landing Craft, Vehicle / Personnel) Mk V currently operated by the Royal Marines entered service in 1996 but other than waterjet propulsion and better navigational equipment, is little different from its Second World War-era predecessors. It has a capacity of up to 35 fully-equipped troops but can be reconfigured to carry a vehicle or stores up to 6 tonnes. It can achieve up to 24 knots but only in calm conditions. The large bow ramp and hull design does not cope well with higher sea states and for longer transits, is tiring and uncomfortable which does not deliver troops in the best condition to fight.

Continues https://www.navylookout.com/ship-to-sho ... the-beach/

[Brian James]

LEST WE FORGET.

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Navy Lookout
Positive news.
The number of trained RN Marine Engineers (MEs) is set to rise substantially (up about 13%) in the next year.
See https://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?i ... #g21264.q0