Current RN News and Updates

[Pelican]

Germany urges UK’s Rishi Sunak to spend big on defense

Russian threat looms large as Chancellor Olaf Scholz prepares to welcome British PM to Berlin.

https://www.politico.eu/article/rishi-s ... n-defense/

[Pelican]

Sir Humphrey
The British Government has announced a £75bn increase in Defence spending.
PSL analysis live on how much of this is new money, where it may be spent and the very elegant 'political booby trap' at the heart of these spending plans.
https://thinpinstripedline.blogspot.com ... rease.html

Also https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-a ... 25-by-2030

[Pelican]

Mojave drone fires gun pods for first time

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems recently released details of a successful live-fire demonstration involving its Mojave unmanned aircraft system, the same type recently trialled onboard a British carrier.

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

[Pelican]

A message from CGRM: The Commandos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBj_GDnsoEc

[Pelican]

Navy Lookout
Defence Minister j cartlidge mp refuses to confirm if HMS Westminster and HMS Argyll will ever go back to sea
"I am committed to looking at the future of the Surface Fleet in the round and making tough but necessary decisions to ensure this transition is a success."
https://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?i ... #g21265.r0

[Pelican]

UK first as crewed aircraft controls autonomous jet drone

QinetiQ has successfully trialled the UK’s first Crewed-Uncrewed-Teaming demonstration between a crewed aircraft and an autonomous jet drone.

The trial – which took place in collaboration with the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), the Royal Navy and the Air and Space Warfare Centre (ASWC) – saw a QinetiQ jet aircraft take off from Ministry of Defence (MOD) site Boscombe Down in Salisbury, while a modified Banshee Jet 80 drone was launched from the MOD Hebrides range, off the north-west coast of Scotland.

Flying from Boscombe to the Hebrides, the aircraft soon gained control of the Banshee, with the drone receiving its orders from the aircraft before automatically conducting the mission assignment, flying at 350 knots.

Continues https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/uk-firs ... jet-drone/

[Brian James]

Early Men o' War.

[Pelican]

Level of British military presence on Falklands ‘appropriate’

Concerns were raised recently regarding the adequacy of air defences in the Falkland Islands in response to Argentina’s acquisition of F-16 jets from Denmark.
Robert Buckland MP, Chair of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, posed a critical question to the Secretary of State for Defence, seeking clarification on the UK’s current defence posture in the South Atlantic.

https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/level-o ... propriate/

[Pelican]

Multiple British warships to get laser guns April 26, 2024

The Ministry of Defence has confirmed its commitment to outfitting multiple Royal Navy ships with the DragonFire Laser Directed Energy Weapons (DEW) by 2027.

This clarification came in response to inquiries from John Healey MP, the Shadow Secretary of State for Defence, directed at the MOD regarding the specifics of the deployment timeline and selection of vessels for the DragonFire system.

James Cartlidge, the Minister of State at the Ministry of Defence, provided details on the plans for the DragonFire system during the parliamentary session.

Cartlidge confirmed that while the MOD is actively working to identify the first ship to be equipped with the laser system, the broader strategy includes a rollout to multiple ships.

“The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has committed to accelerating DragonFire Laser Directed Energy Weapons (DEW) into operational capability by equipping multiple Royal Navy ships with a DragonFire LDEW minimum deployable capability from 2027. During the development of the first DragonFire Directed Energy Weapon, the MOD will identify the most appropriate ship for first deployment of this capability to meet operational requirements and increase the capability of the Royal Navy as well as the number of ships we will fit with this capability.”

The DragonFire project, a joint venture led by defence contractors MBDA, Leonardo UK, and QinetiQ, has already showcased promising results in preliminary trials. These successful demonstrations have shifted the project from a conceptual phase to a feasible addition to the Royal Navy’s arsenal.

Source UKDJ

[Pelican]

Snapshot of the status of the British fleet

In this snapshot of the Royal Navy and RFA’s current fleet status, we see the status of individual ships and what they’re up to.
Currently, just over 19 percent of the Royal Navy’s major surface combatants are active or immediately deployable. If ships in maintenance are included, that figure reaches around 43 percent.

This percentage reflects the rigorous demands and complexities associated with maintaining a modern and technologically advanced fleet. coupled with crewing concerns.

Continues https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/snapsho ... ish-fleet/