General Naval Topics

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Pelican
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Pelican wrote: Mon Jun 27, 2022 10:52 pm HELICASTING


Commandos take plunge in daring leap from helicopters off Devon coast

Royal Marines leapt ten feet from Chinook helicopters into the Bristol Channel as they tested some of their most daring Commando skills.
The Marines from Taunton-based 40 Commando were picked up by Royal Air Force helicopters on the dunes of Braunton Burrows in North Devon to practise what is known as ‘helicasting’.

It’s a technique which gets Commandos into the action quickly, dropping them from the back of helicopters into the ocean – from where they use their Zodiac raiding craft to strike at the enemy ashore.

The training took place alongside 47 Commando – the Royal Marines’ small boat raiding specialists – to keep Marines sharp for operations around the world.

Helicasting takes immense skill and team-work – from those dropping into the raging surf, to the small boat teams and, of course, the pilots who hover their aircraft just above the waves to allow the Commandos to deploy.

The technique is used to quickly get troops ashore but also to access routes inland which a foe would regard as unpassable for conventional forces.

Continues at - https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-l ... elicasting

Video at - https://twitter.com/RoyalMarines/status ... 5649932295
UPDATE ON ANTI SHIP MISSILES - https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/britain ... ZeQfgWixuI
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Pelican
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Depite the shambolic state of the government, a quite brilliant performance by
B Wallace MP at the Commons Defence committee yesterday.
Few ministers have ever been so committed and honest or had such a good grip on a complex brief in a challenging time.

Short video at - https://twitter.com/NavyLookout/status/ ... 4590359553
HMS Pelican 1938 - 1958 GGCV L86 U86 F86 What I Have I Hold ~ A wonderful bird is the Pelican its beak can hold more than its belly can.
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Pelican
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HMS Pelican 1938 - 1958 GGCV L86 U86 F86 What I Have I Hold ~ A wonderful bird is the Pelican its beak can hold more than its belly can.
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Pelican
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Royal Navy changes course on interim anti-ship missile for a second time


The acquisition of anti-ship missiles for the RN took another twist yesterday when it was revealed that the project to procure the weapons has been resurrected after it was cancelled in November 2021. A wide-ranging and unusually candid Commons Defence Select Committee hearing on 5th July also covered a range of UK shipbuilding and procurement issues.

It was only briefly touched upon during the 2-hour hearing but the Defence Secretary said: “there is an interim plan to replace Harpoon in between what we might settle upon in the long term. I can’t provide details yet as I’m not sure when it will be put out to tender but there is a plan to do so.” Asked when it would enter service, Rear Admiral Paul Marshall interjected: “We are in negotiation now so it would be inappropriate to comment further”.

The I-SSGW project was originally initiated in March 2019 – a plane to purchase a small stock of weapons to replace the RN’s obsolete Harpoon Block IC when it went goes out of service. The £200M budget was expected to provide enough weapons to equip a few of the Type 23 frigates until the Future Cruise and Anti-Ship (FCASW) missile becomes available, supposedly in 2028 although most believe this timeframe is unrealistic. In late 2021, the then First Sea Lord, said the RN had abandoned I-SSGW as a “sticking paster” approach in favour of waiting and investing the money in FCASW. The subsequent war in Ukraine has laid the RN’s lack of offensive firepower increasingly bare and undoubtedly led to further reconsideration. The decision will be broadly welcomed but the issue is now how quickly the missile can be brought into service, especially at a time when global demand for complex weapons is rising rapidly.

The potential candidates are discussed in our previous article here. The Kongsberg/Raytheon Naval Strike Missile is thought to be the favourite but the Saab Gungnir RBS 15 Mk 4, IAI Sea Serpent Mk V or even the Lockheed Martin LRASM are contenders. A modern variant of Harpoon is a possibility but was excluded, at least from initial consideration, as it did not meet the RN’s requirement for land-attack capability.

Continues at - https://www.navylookout.com/royal-navy- ... xhRyGKttDc
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Pelican
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A closer look at the Littoral Strike Ship concept


In February 2019, the then Defence Minister, Gavin Williamson, announced the plan to rapidly procure vessels around which two ‘Littoral Strike Groups’ would be formed. Here we look further at the Future Littoral Strike Ship (FLSS) concept and at the design developed by Prevail Partners as one of the potential candidates to meet this requirement.


Background
Since the ministerial announcement, there has been limited further official comment about the FLSS concept, although the previous First Sea Lord was enthusiastic about “refreshing our littoral strike credentials” when speaking at RUSI in May 2019. £35M has been allocated from the MoD’s Transformation Fund for the development of FLSS although, at the time of writing, no commercial company has received a contract for detailed design work. The concept clearly makes sense but information in the public domain is sketchy.

The FLSS has been evolved from an earlier Multi-Role Support Ship (MRSS) pre-concept study undertaken between 2017-2018. Conducted by the MoD’s Naval Design Partnering (NDP) team, the MRSS study was tasked to consider options for replacing the LPDs, HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark as well as other amphibious capabilities. The FLSS are intended to be procured quickly to complement the LPDs, rather than replace them. The FLSS is unlikely to fly the White Ensign and may either be operated as a Royal Fleet Auxiliary, or more likely run as a government-chartered vessel.

MV Ocean Trader is a merchant ship conversion belonging to the US Military Sea Lift Command and was perhaps the inspiration for the FLSS. Ocean Trader is not painted all-grey and looks like a typical merchant vessel in appearance. Iran also operates the MV Saviz, supposedly a general cargo vessel but in fact used as an offshore surveillance and special forces base, recently operating in the Red Sea probably supporting Houthi rebels in Yemen. At times there are advantages to not advertising the military capabilities of a vessel.

Continues at - https://www.navylookout.com/a-closer-lo ... p-concept/
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Pelican
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FISHERY PROTECTION AND MARITIME SECURTIY - SOME RECENT TWEETS

In Q4 2021 the fishery protection contract the MoD had with with DEFRA came to an end (now outsourced to private contractor) freeing up the RN's three Batch 1 OPVs for other home waters Maritime Security and training tasks.

JS Heappey says 1 x Royal Navy OPV and 4 x P2000 (patrol boats) nominally allocated to the Channel Migrant operation. Supported by a further 189 RN and Army personnel ashore.
13,729 migrant have arrived in the UK so far this year (Total of 28,526 in 2021)

From the start, the MoD has been clear the Navy does not do "pushback, forced interdiction or soft kinetic operations" in the Channel.
All migrant boats detected in the Channel are automatically considered "vessels in distress" as they are usually overloaded and not appropriate for use in these waters.
Under SOLAS rules, there is an obligation on all mariners to assist vessels in distress.
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Royal Navy

Those who dare to render mines, bombs, and other unexploded devices have a focal point to remember.

The Vernon monument was dedicated today to the Royal Navy mine warfare/diving community at Gunwharf Quays, for decades the home of those forces.


‘This is your monument’ – Memorial to mine warfare and diving heroes dedicated in Portsmouth

Full report and photos old and new at - https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-l ... n-monument
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First Sea Lord's speech to the Council on Geostrategy

First Sea Lord's speech to the Council on Geostrategy

The speech by the First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Ben Key, to the Council on Geostrategy at The Naval and Military Club in London on July 19 2022
Ladies and gentlemen, good morning. It is a real pleasure to be here. I’d like to extend a warm welcome to our speakers and panellists; and to colleagues from across Government, Whitehall, the Diplomatic Corps and academia.

Now I recognise looking around the room that we are more a group of critical friends than of friendly critics. So we probably need to take the opportunity now, to avoid being an echo chamber of how marvellous we are in believing in the maritime, and actually to make sure that we’re drawing the right lessons and examining and describing the correct challenges from the geopolitical moment that we find ourselves in.

And that will allow us then to keep our thinking fresh, and not just sit back on the assumption that everyone does understand, we are an island nation.

Continues, including "The world has woken up to the risks that Russia’s invasion poses. NATO has a new energy and cohesiveness about it, and most of us agree that it sure was not in Putin’s long term strategy to persuade neutral nations Finland and Sweden to apply to join.

As the Chief of Defence Staff said over the weekend, Russia represents a near and present danger to us, and to which we must respond. So as we in the western militaries move to ensure we can deter further aggression along the border of easter Europe, Putin has, through his actions, created a new Iron Curtain from the Baltic to the Black Sea.

But – and to use a nautical analogy – we must take care to scan our binoculars across the whole horizon. The risk of focussing solely on Russia is that you miss the long term strategic challenge posed by China. " at - https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-l ... WV0cggrt7g
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ivorthediver
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A stirring statement of the current situation , glad his at the tiller David .....
"What Ever Floats your Boat"
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ivorthediver wrote: Tue Jul 19, 2022 7:20 pm A stirring statement of the current situation , glad his at the tiller David .....
Speculation about Putin’s assassination ‘wishful thinking’, military chief says

The Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral said Russia is the “biggest threat” to the UK but dismissed speculation President Putin could be “toppled”.

See - https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/vlad ... 12841.html
HMS Pelican 1938 - 1958 GGCV L86 U86 F86 What I Have I Hold ~ A wonderful bird is the Pelican its beak can hold more than its belly can.
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