Current RN News and Updates

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Britain developing homegrown hypersonic missile

It has been reported that the United Kingdom intends to design and deploy its own hypersonic cruise missile by the year 2030.
This is part of an aim to match the capabilities of global powers such as China, Russia, and the United States, The Telegraph reports. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/0 ... e-by-2030/

Continues, including "Details on the launch platform for the hypersonic missile remain undecided, with options including deployment from land, fighter jets, or warships." https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/britain ... c-missile/

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Sir Humphrey
A very powerful article about how the US Navy is retreating from public engagement, less accountable to the media and is suffering a lack of recruits. Is the UK in the same position?

Dear Admiral, Bull Halsey Did Not Have A Recruiting Crisis – OPED
In the crucible of World War II, iconic figures like Fleet Admiral William “Bull” Halsey and General Douglas MacArthur didn’t just command forces; they commanded respect and admiration through their exceptional engagement with both the media and the public. They understood a powerful principle of influence — reciprocity via direct engagement. By taking the time to meet with journalists and write back to public letters, they cultivated a connection that not only boosted their reputations but also significantly bolstered public morale and support. Today, however, as our ranks of flag officers have swelled and modern communication tools like Salesforce make direct engagement simpler, this tradition of accessibility and personal connection has lamentably disappeared.
Continues https://gcaptain.com/dear-admiral-bull- ... isis-oped/

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Chief of the Defence Staff
Following the UK’s defence spending announcement, here’s my speech at Chatham House from February that explains the context: a dangerous world, NATO’s collective strength, Russia’s predicament and the government conversations that are always underway.
https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/ ... ote-speech

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Royal Navy to equip 19 ships with trainable decoy launchers

In late March it was announced that the SEA Ancilia system had won the competition to develop a new trainable decoy launcher for the RN. In this article we look at the background and the winning bid.

Competition
RN warships currently carry the fixed 130mm NATO Sea Gnat decoy launcher system, (Designated Outfit DLH by the RN), essentially sets of angled mortar tubes bolted to the deck. These are used to launch either Mk 216 and Mk 217 radio frequency (RF) distraction decoys or the MK 245 infrared (IR) seduction decoy.

https://www.navylookout.com/royal-navy- ... launchers/

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How we defeat the drones

Those who comment on the current wars in Ukraine and Israel/Gaza/Iran have been quick to join the prevailing orthodoxy that the proliferation of drones on the battlefield has changed conflict forever.

Many have gone even further than this and have claimed that the advent of the drone has rendered conventional military forces obsolete, as there is nowhere to hide from the new all-seeing eye in the sky. The age of the completely transparent battlefield is upon us they say.

There’s little argument that drones, or uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) or whatever you want to call them, have had a major impact on the way conventional war is conducted. We got an early taster for it in the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War of 2020, when we saw tanks and other armoured vehicles seemingly picked off at will by the new weaponry.

Continues https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/how-we- ... he-drones/

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How the UK's Armed Forces can improve the offer for their service personnel

Recently retired Royal Navy Commodore Steve Prest offers his insight and opinion on the current state of play in the Navy

After recently retiring from the Royal Navy, Commodore Steve Prest said the Armed Forces must improve the employment package on offer, and using sailors as an example he outlines how they should do it.

In my previous article for Forces News, I wrote about needing to improve "the offer" to recruit and retain sailors in sufficient quantities to meet the needs of the service and the nation.

A number of correspondents on social media and elsewhere challenged me to expand on this and offer some more specific solutions rather than leave the point simply with the articulation of the problem.

Forces News has kindly invited me back to meet this challenge.

Continues https://www.forces.net/opinion/how-mili ... -personnel

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HMS Cattistock inside Plymouth Breakwater this afternoon.
She is due to receive the freedom of Poole at a ceremony on Saturday.

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UK announces £35m tender for submarine countermeasures

The project, named Next Generation Countermeasure (NGCM), is part of the Underwater Defensive Aids Suite (UDAS) delivery programme and comes with a budget of £35 million.

Set to be delivered from October 2025 to October 2032, the NGCM initiative seeks to equip both current and potentially future platforms with advanced countermeasures.

The tender notice outlines that “Expressions of Interests are sought from Potential Providers that have the capability to develop and supply a countermeasure system.”

The procurement process will adhere to a “competitive dialogue procurement process,” ensuring a thorough selection procedure. As detailed in the notice, “This procurement will be undertaken following the competitive dialogue procurement process.”

The project timeline is established with an “initial Contract duration is estimated to be for a period of 7 years.” The MoD intends to create a shortlist of up to three tenderers who meet the “minimum pre-qualification standards.“

Source UKDJ

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Britain could soon lose control of its defence industry

‘Britain could soon lose control of its defence industry’ – expert Q&A.

Miltary spending is surging in the face of heightened geopolitical tensions. The UK plans to hike its defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2030, amounting to £87 billion a year.

This is an increase from around 2.3% today, which Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said is necessary in an “increasingly dangerous” world.

It comes at the same time as the US has signed off on a US$95 billion (£76 billion) military aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. Meanwhile, the once dovish Germans want to become Nato’s leaders in Europe, and nations like France and Sweden are also pushing for increased military commitments.

We asked Keith Hartley, a defence specialist and emeritus professor of economics at the University of York, to offer his views on how defence will change in the years to come.

What will spending increases mean overall?

This article is the opinion of the author (Keith Hartley, University of York) and not necessarily that of the UK Defence Journal. If you would like to submit your own article on this topic or any other, please see our submission guidelines.

Continues https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/britain ... -industry/

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Navy Lookout
Maritime Electronic Warfare System Integrated Capability (MEWSIC) initial software release passes testing by RN personnel
@dstlmod
New system will be fitted to QEC carriers, T45, T26 and T31 and has ability to fuse all received electromagnetic emissions with the tactical picture automatically.
See https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-l ... are-system