The Royal Navy’s part in the UK response to Hurricane Irma

There has been considerable criticism of the UK’s response to provide aid to the British territories in the Caribbean after being hit by the most severe hurricane in a generation. This is entirely unfair. Naval assets were already pre-positioned in the region for just such an eventuality and are now part of a considerable tri-service effort by the UK armed forces and other agencies.

The ever-sensible Thin Pinstriped Line Blog has brilliantly deflated much of whining about the UK ‘not doing enough’ and Sir Humphrey’s excellent 2-part analysis of the actual response can be read here and here. The British aid effort in the Caribbean has been outstanding, given the resources available. Highlighting this is not some Tory conspiracy to make the government and MoD look good. Every credible independent defence source is saying the same.

The UK armed forces and the RN, in particular, are well trained, well prepared and have a proven track record of responding to natural disasters all over the world. Since 2010 the RN has participated in several significant HADR (Humanitarian Assistance & Disaster Relief) operations; Hatai Earthquake (2010), Relief work in wake of Typhoon Haiyan, Philippines (Operation Pawtin 2013), Ebola disease containment, Sierra Leone (Operation Gritrock, 2015), Migrant rescue, Mediterranean (Operation Weald, 2015).

The RN has maintained a presence in the Caribbean in support of British interests, almost continuously since the second World War. The number of ships stationed in the West Indies has declined in proportion to size of the navy. Despite the shortage of available vessels, the Naval Service has still managed to maintain this commitment, officially known as Atlantic Patrol – North (APT(N)) right up till now. These vessels are a sign of tangible government support for the region and in case of disaster, are ideal on-scene first-responders. In recent years APT(N) has unusually been undertaken by a Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship although the much smaller OPVs HMS Severn and HMS Mersey were sent in 2015 and 2016 respectively. Ships on this task conduct counter-narcotics patrols and provide welcome reassurance to UK territories. They regularly plan and exercise disaster relief work with local officials in an area notorious for its hurricanes.

RFA Mounts Bay arrived in the area in July 2017, replacing RFA Wave Knight. Of all the ships available for disaster relief, RFA Mounts Bay is especially well suited to the role. With a helicopter and a floodable dock, she can unload heavy stores directly onto the beach using her Mexflote (A modular self-propelled raft that is lashed to the side of the ship when underway).

The UK military response has now been designated “Operation RUMAN”. On 7th September it was decided that HMS Ocean would be re-assigned from leading Standing NATO maritime Group 1 in the Mediterranean to join RUMAN. She arrives in Gibraltar today for a 24-hour stopover to embark stores and more helicopters. HMS Ocean, not known for her great speed, will have to cross the Atlantic and is unlikely to arrive in the Carribean before 22nd September. Her aircraft and stores will provide a much greater impact than RFA Mounts Bay but underlines how useful it is to have a ship already in the region. Ocean’s role is more likely to be focused on helping in the reconstruction efforts after the hurricanes have passed.

In pictures – the story so far…

RFA Mounts Bay was already in the Carribean when Irma struck. She carries a specialist disaster relief team – drawn from the Royal Engineers and Royal Logistics Corps – as well as heavy plant for moving emergency kit and shelters. Also on board are the Royal Navy’s Mobile Aviation Support Force – aviation specialists, meteorological advisors and flight deck crews.

RFA Mounts Bay arrived first in Anguilla on 7th September, delivering six tonnes of emergency aid to using her Mexeflotes

Operations officer from RFA Mounts Bay liaises with a member of the Anguilla disaster relief organisation.

RFA Mounts Bay arrived in Tortola Roads Bay on the morning of 8th September and straight away commenced flying Ops. The Wildcat helicopter flew in, picked up the Governor, the First Minister and key island personnel for a meeting onboard.

Personnel from 815 Naval Air Squadron unload DFiD stores from the Wildcat helicopter at Tortola airport.

The Wildcat delivers a ton of fresh water made on board RFA Mounts Bay to Tortola. Delivering water by helicopter is hardly efficient or a long-term solution, but fulfills an urgent need rapidly.

Engineers from RFA Mounts Bay helped stop a potentially-dangerous fuel leak at Anguilla’s main petrol dump, restore power to the island’s sole hospital and hand out shelters providing temporary homes for people left homeless by the storm. They also cleared the runway which was declared safe for relief flights.

The Wildcat helicopter flew Governor Tim Foy on a flight over the island to survey the damage from during seven hours of continuous flying. The reconnaissance found widespread damage to infrastructure, schools, government buildings and power supplies. As a result of the sortie, the island’s leaders and ship’s team decided to focus efforts on supporting the police headquarters as the hub of the relief effort, get the hospital on its feet again, and reinforce two shelter stations – particularly important with Hurricane José now heading towards the region.

RAF A400M aircraft flew Alpha Company, 40 Cdo Royal Marines to Barbados before onwards travel to the British Virgin Islands. They were due to have joined HMS Ocean as SPTG (Special Forces Task Group) but instead, together with 24 Commando Royal Engineers, they will have the specialist task of repairing infrastructure and reopening damaged routes.

Alpha Coy, 40 Cdo are now on the ground in Road Town, Tortola, the capital of the British Virgin Islands and one of the worst effected regions after the category 5 storm struck. They will start joint patrolling and reassurance with the local police before Hurricane Jose arrives.

Marines from Alpha Company work to move a collapsed radio mast within the police station on Tortola, British Virgin Islands which has been blocking crucial access.

Meanwhile, in the Mediterranean, a planning meeting is held to discuss HMS Ocean’s new tasking. She will switch from being flagship on a NATO group to conducting relief operations on the other side of the world.

A member of HMS Ocean’s ships company conducts an audit of tools for use by shore parties prior to arrival in Gibralter to embark more stores and equipment.

Two RAF Chinooks are already aboard HMS Ocean rehearse vertical replenishment procedures.

Four more RAF Chinooks, along with an RN Merlin, have flown out to Gibraltar from the UK to join HMS Ocean. Arriving on Sunday night, they are seen being unloaded at RAF Gibraltar.

HMS Ocean Vehicle deck on seen loaded ready for NATO mission will have to be re-configured in Gibraltar for the relief mission. This is an example of maritime platforms demonstrating their versatility – Ocean will be turned around and back to sea in around 24 hours. This also underlines the strategic importance of Gibraltar, being available to support naval logistics at short notice.

The aircraft hangar on Ocean being prepared for the new mission. The ship will take on 200 pallets of UK Aid and 60 pallets of Emergency Relief Stores (ERS) in Gibraltar. These contain power tools to help rebuild communities, emergency shelters for those left homeless as well as items such as water purification kits and nappies.

All images: MoD ©Crown copyright 2017

Related articles

• Hurricane Irma: UK response found wanting, MPs say (BBC)
• Michael Fallon defends UK’s response to Hurricane Irma (Guardian)
• The campaign to retain, and eventually replace HMS Ocean starts here (Save the Royal Navy)
• The Royal Navy – prime force for delivery of emergency aid and disaster relief (Save the Royal Navy)
• Why a portion UK overseas aid money should be given to the armed forces (Save the Royal Navy)

from Save the Royal Navy http://www.savetheroyalnavy.org/the-royal-navys-part-in-the-uk-response-to-hurricane-irma/

HMS Prince of Wales formally named – another step towards renewing aircraft carrier capability

HMS Prince of Wales was officially named today during a ceremony in Rosyth, Scotland. The ship’s sponsor, Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Rothesay, followed Royal Navy tradition by triggering the release of a bottle of 10-year-old whiskey to smash against the ship’s hull. It’s been a busy summer for the RN. In August HMS Queen Elizabeth arrived in Portsmouth for the first time. Less than a month later it is time to mark another major milestone for the aircraft carrier programme.

HMS PoW was structurally complete in July 2016 but the complex work of fitting out and systems integration is still in its early stages. The ship will be floated out of dry dock in early 2018 and be berthed in the same position where HMS Queen Elizabeth was completed. HMS QE was in effect a prototype vessel so progress on the second ship is already ahead of schedule which has been built around 20% faster, thanks to the lessons learned. This includes improvement to the application of its heat-resistant flight deck Thermal Metalic Spray (TMS) paint and installing an improved F-35 landing light systems earlier in the build process. There have also been adjustments to construction practice. To save time coming on and off the ship, contractors now use the ship itself as their offices, using the hangar and other large available spaces to hold meetings and keep stocks of materials. Although it is described as “an aggressive timeline” there is confidence HMS PoW will go to sea in the Summer of 2019, building on the success of HMS QE’s initial trials.

HMS Prince of Wales – lead ship for the assault role

HMS PoW is having some internal modifications so she can perform in the LPH (assault ship / littoral maneuver) role. These modifications are modest and include changing to some access routes, accommodation and storage arrangements for the embarked military force and their kit. She will be able to comfortably accommodate 2 companies of Marines (around 500 men) and it is intended she will declare LPH full operating capability sometime in 2023. The 4.5 acre flight deck will allow HMS PoW to simultaneously launch up to 14 helicopters in a single wave when she is operating in the LPH role. Although using these ships in the LPH role far from ideal, this space gives them a great advantage over HMS Ocean. HMS QE will be modified like her sister during her first major refit, probably in 2026, so both ships will then have full LPH capability.

The QEC are not designed to operate landing craft. They will carry 3 passenger transport boats (PTBs) launched from bays on the sponsons on 4 deck. The PTBs are intended for ferrying crew and visitors to and from the ship when anchored offshore and are not intended for use in the assault role. Four PTBs have been ordered from Alnmaritec for HMS QE, two named Swordfish and Buccaneer have been already been delivered. HMS PoW will instead receive three workboats of the SEA class, part of the recent order for 30 workboats placed with Atlas Elektronik.

In the LPH role troops will be landed from the QEC by helicopter. However this plan of the hangar deck show there are other several options for getting personnel on and off the ship. (Click image for larger version)

CGI of how HMS Prince of Wales Passenger Transfer boats will look

One of HMS Queen Elizabeth’s passenger Transfer boats ‘Buccaneer’ on the dockside at Rosyth.

Continous Carrier Capability

It is now clear the RN is aiming to maintain continuous carrier capability. Initially, manpower concerns had made this seem unlikely but manning the carriers has been prioritised, even at the expense of the rest of the fleet. The intention is that one aircraft carrier will be at 5 days notice to deploy (Very High Readiness). When configured for the LPH role they will be expected to be at 30 days notice to deploy (High Readiness). Theoretically, it may be possible for both carriers to be deployed with one in strike role and one in LPH role. Maintenance periods and refits will obviously mean that for long periods only one carrier will be available.

The future for HMS Queen Elizabeth

HMS Queen Elizabeth should sail for the second phase of her sea trials in October and will formally commission in December. She will sail for heavy weather trials in the North Atlantic in the first quarter of 2018. During this time she will also focus on rotary-wing certification and trials with embarked Wildcats, Merlin Mk2s, Merlin HC4s, Army Air Corps Apache and RAF Chinooks. HMS QE will not be fully capable in the LPH role for several years but she will routinely embark Royal Marines of the Special Purpose Task Group. The SPTG was established in December 2015, its prime role is to rescue downed aircrew and destroy or recover sensitive equipment such as F-35 parts. However, the SPTG is a multi-purpose formation that can be used to support other special forces operations or conduct raids ashore.

HMS QE will be back alongside for a further planned “defect rectification and capability insertion” period in mid-2018. The main work will be adding equipment to support F-35 operations such as the Instrument Carrier Landing System (ICLS) and set up ALIS – the F-35 aircraft maintenance system. In the later part of 2018 HMS QE will sail with HMS Montrose as her escort to the East Coast of the US. She will embark Royal Marines who will be flown ashore to exercise with the US Marine Corps. Off the Eastern Seaboard of the US, the first F-35Bs will land on HMS QE to begin flying trials. Two specially instrumented “orange-wired” F-35B test aircraft and four pilots will be aboard for 8 weeks of trials and evaluation. Short Rolling Vertical Landing (SRVL) will be practiced for the first time outside a simulator. This complex manoeuvre will allow the aircraft to return safely to the ship with a weight of unused weapons or fuel. The technique is controversial, many F-35 naysayers expect it to prove unworkable.

As something we can all look forward to, respected film-maker Chris Terrill has been embarked aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth during her sea trials and his 3-part documentary Royal Navy: Carrier Strike will be shown on BBC 2 in January 2018.

 

from Save the Royal Navy http://www.savetheroyalnavy.org/hms-prince-of-wales-formally-named-another-step-towards-renewing-aircraft-carrier-capability/

Babcock announces ‘Arrowhead’ – another option for the Type 31 frigate competition

Babcock International has just revealed their concept for the Type 31e Frigate competition. Arrowhead is the latest design to emerge from a British naval design house and will be formally unveiled at DSEI next week. 

Babcock describes the design as a “cost-effective general purpose frigate designed with flexibility and adaptability at its core to meet the needs of modern navies worldwide”. Arrowhead 120 is a conventional approach and is very similar to the Spartan concept released by Steller Systems in November 2016. The key similarities are a stern ramp for boat and USV deployment and reconfigurable mission and payload bays. Both would be propelled by a Diesel-Electric CODLAD arrangement.

Babcock’s potential advantage over the BMT Venator and Stellar Systems Spartan is that they are not just a design house and have their own shipyards and a track record of ship building and repair for the Royal Navy. As with all of these concepts, it is difficult to assess their individual merit as most of the equipment fit is not defined and can be selected by the customer. It would appear that Arrowhead would meet the broad specification defined by the RN announced yesterday. Whichever concept is selected, there would be considerable work to be done to select the best weapons and equipment available within the £250M price limit. The detailed design work would need to be completed by 2019 when first steel must be cut.

Arrowhead 120 DIGITAL

 

Related articles

• Arrowhead 120 (Babcock International)
• Shipbuilding Strategy for the Type 31 Frigate announced – a great day for the Royal Navy? (Save the Royal Navy)

from Save the Royal Navy http://www.savetheroyalnavy.org/babcock-announces-arrowhead-another-option-for-the-type-31-frigate-competition/

Royal Navy issues outline specification for the Type 31 Frigate to industry

At an event held in London for industry today, Defence Procurement Minister Harriett Baldwin launched plans for the procurement of the Royal Navy’s new Type 31e frigates – a day after the announcement of a new National Shipbuilding Strategy. The competition was unveiled by senior leaders from the Ministry of Defence, Royal Navy and Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S). 

The image above shows the key requirements for the vessel. Government is taking a very optimistic view. Harriet Baldwin commented,  “It will take the very best of British engineering, innovation and drive to achieve it… this programme will re-energise a world-leading, vibrant and competitive British shipbuilding industry.”

We look forward to seeing how this project progresses and whether it proves to be the route to a stronger Royal Navy or the unwanted child of austerity.

 

from Save the Royal Navy http://www.savetheroyalnavy.org/royal-navy-issues-outline-specification-for-the-type-31-frigate-to-industry/

Shipbuilding Strategy for the Type 31 Frigate announced – a great day for the Royal Navy?

After much delay, the Defence Secretary today outlined the National Shipbuilding Strategy, specifically the intention to build at least five Type 31e frigates for the Royal Navy.

“This new approach will lead to more cutting-edge ships for the growing Royal Navy that will be designed to maximise exports and be attractive to navies around the world. Backed up by a commitment to spend billions on new ships, our plan will help boost jobs, skills and growth in shipyards and the supply chain across the UK. It’s a great day for the Royal Navy.”(Michael Fallon)

Construction of the ships will be shared between shipyards around the UK with assembly at a central hub. This is a potential boost to several smaller yards in the UK that are already seeing a modest revival in commercial shipbuilding. Block building the QEC aircraft carriers made sense because a single yard was unable to take on such a large project. Unfortunately sharing construction of a small frigate between several yards may actually add to costs and be less efficient. The Type 26 Frigates are being constructed by one company in 2 yards, close together in Glasgow. Already local media and politicians with interest in yards around the UK are speculating about their involvement. Cammel Laid (Birkenhead), Babcock (Appledore and Devonport), Ferguson (Port Glasgow), Harland & Wolff (Belfast), A&P (Tyne) are all looking for a possible share in this modest programme.

The block-built £150 million polar research ship, RRS David Attenborough, being built at Cammell Laird offers a little hope that yards are becoming more competitive. Apart from Backbock Appledore building OPVs for the Irish Navy, no one other than BAE Systems has constructed a warship in Britain for a generation. Building steel blocks for ships is not especially complicated, it is the integration of very complex and high-specification systems that separate the warship builder from the commercial builder. How much of this specialist expertise is available outside BAES is unclear.

It is not yet known where the main assembly site for these ships would be. Some suggest that the Babcock site in Rosyth would be well suited to this work when HMS Prince of Wales is completed. In Scotland, there is still anger amongst unions that they had been promised all 13 frigates, not just the 8 Type 26 Frigates. This is somewhat excessive as the Clyde has a fat order book of OPVs and frigates and a very secure future.

BAES have so far been ambivalent about involvement in Type 31 saying it could potentially be “a race to the bottom”. The project is effectively a challenge to their monopoly and they cannot be expected to be overjoyed. Babcock, with yards in Appledore, Devonport and Rosyth is the nearest thing BAES has to a competitor in the UK naval market. Type 31 may give Babcock an opening to become a long-term competitor to BAES, something which would be very good news for the taxpayer.

The intention has always been that Type 31e should be designed with the export market in mind. If Britain was able to break back into the frigate export market, from which it has been absent for almost 30 years, this would drive down units costs, benefiting the RN and the economy as a whole. To fulfill Sir John’s vision of economies of scale will require far building more than 5 ships, the project needs to attract foreign interest quickly.

A price cap of £250 million has been placed on each ship. Building to a target cost may produce mixed results but should focus minds. The RN needs to become a more ‘disciplined’ client and avoid mid-project changes, while industry needs to be more efficient. Considering a Type 26 is priced at more than £800M, then £250M is a very ambitious target. Other Europen nations who have produced frigates at comparable cost but this would represent a very aggressive reversal of UK warship cost trends. The timescale is also exceptionally demanding and calls for the first ship to be at sea by 2023. If the first steel needs to be cut by the end of 2018, then the design will have to be rapidly completed. Of the available concepts, this time pressure gives BAES’ Cutlass and the BMT’s Venator a slight advantage, being more mature than the Steller Systems’ Spartan or the, soon to be announced, Babcock Arrowhead.

I am very impressed by the courage that the Secretary of State has shown – and the Government – in adopting my recommendations, which were very extensive, and will change the shape of naval shipbuilding over the country in the future. The next challenge is to come up with a world-leading design; one that can satisfy the needs of the Royal Navy and the export market. (Sir John Parker)

How the Type 31 programme will be funded has not been discussed yet. Sir John Parker has argued the project should be ring fenced with the money earmarked in advance but this has always looked unlikely as it would set a very unwelcome precedent for the Treasury. Although in cash terms the Defence budget slowly rising, there is still a £20Bn gap between commitments in the equipment programme and available funds. Tory politicians refuse to admit it, perhaps knowing it is their successor that will have to deal with the consequences, but there will be further cuts to UK defence somewhere soon.

From the RN’s point of view, there is great hope that the Type 31 project can deliver. It is right that someone has finally said “enough is enough” to the ballooning cost of new warships. Diversifying the suppliers of warships has got to be a good thing and offers the opportunity to strengthen industry, manufacturing and skills base across the country. Whether a credible warship for the 2030s and 2040s can be delivered at this price, in this time frame remains to be seen.

 

Related articles

• The National Shipbuilding Strategy report – a roadmap for a stronger RN (Save the Royal Navy)
• Ambitious future for Naval Shipbuilding in the UK (Defence Synergia)
• UK defense chief to reveal Type 31e shipbuilding strategy (Defense News)
• Babcock sets sights on new Navy frigate programme (FT)

from Save the Royal Navy http://www.savetheroyalnavy.org/shipbuilding-strategy-for-the-type-31-frigate-announced-a-great-day-for-the-royal-navy/

HMS Argyll successfully test-fires the Royal Navy’s new Sea Ceptor missile

On 22nd July HMS Argyll successfully test-fired several Sea Ceptor missiles at the Outer Hebredies test range. This short-range air defence missile is replacing the Sea Wolf missile system on the RN’s Type 23 frigates and will also be fitted to the Type 26 frigates.

Sea Ceptor uses MBDA’s Common Anti-air Modular Missile (CAMM) and the similar Land Ceptor version will replace Rapier in service with the British Army. CAMM is ‘cold launched’ using compressed air, before the rocket motors ignite when well clear of the ship. This simplifies the design of the launch silo. Sea Ceptor is intended to give the Royal Navy an improved shield against a new generation of supersonic anti-ship missiles, fast jets, helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles.

The missile can reach speeds of Mach 3 and can engage multiple targets simultaneously, protecting an area of around 500 square miles. With a range of approximately 25 km, almost double that of Sea Wolf, it significantly extends the area under its protective umbrella. The escort vessels carrying the system are is also intended to form a critical part of the protection for the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers.

The missile is guided by the Type 997 Artisan medium range 3D surveillance radar, recently installed across the Type 23 frigate fleet, replacing the Type 996. Sea Wolf also required two Type 911 fire control radars which have been removed and replaced with small data-link aerials that transmit guidance data to the Sea Ceptor. Removal of the 911 is a considerable saving on top weight and could allow the fitting of other equipment on the ships. HMS Argyll has 24 Sea Ceptor cells, a like-for-like replacement of the 24 Sea wolf Cells. The Type 26 frigate will have double this capacity with a 24-cell silo on the foredeck and a 24-cell silo aft, behind the funnel.

At the time of writing HMS Argyll, HMS Westminster and HMS Montrose have received Sea Ceptor. Eventually, all 13 Type 23s will receive the system during an ongoing programme of mid-life refits. HMS Argyll will conduct further firing trials of the system before she deploys to Japan next year.

 

from Save the Royal Navy http://www.savetheroyalnavy.org/hms-argyll-successfully-test-fires-royal-navys-new-sea-ceptor-missile/

BMT introduces Venari 85 – candidate for future RN mine warfare vessel?

Ahead of DSEI 2017 (Defence & Security Equipment Internation) exhibition in London, BMT Defence Services has launched Venari-85, a new design concept for a mine countermeasure (MCM) vessel. The RN is looking at options to replace its current generation of mine warfare and hydrographic vessels and this new design provides an intriguing hybrid for the RN to consider.

Venari-85 is a flexible platform, future-proofed and able to evolve as technology advances in unmanned and offboard systems. BMT’s ship design experience has been combined with QinetiQ’s integration expertise, and drawing upon the experience of mine warfare operators from several different navies and system suppliers, this concept has been designed to exploit the next generation of offboard vehicles, mission systems and operational concepts. Venari-85 can support next generation warfare and hydrographic technology and can support multiple air, surface and sub-surface unmanned vehicles.

A BMT spokesperson said “Venari-85 represents a huge step change in the way MCM ship design is approached and developed. Designing platforms with roles and future technology developments in mind seems the logical step but not one that’s often taken. Before attempting to design such a platform, we invested significant time and effort in operational analysis to better understand how the vessel will be deployed now and in the future, to comprehend the missions and the equipment needed to conduct them. Such an approach not only avoids compromise and repurposing costs in later years, it also maximises the ability to conduct effective MCM throughout life. ”

Alongside the primary MCM role, Venari can be used in other roles such as maritime security boarding, economic zone protection and contribution to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations – all of which reinforce the platform’s value for money credentials.

The Venari 85 concept can be tailored to the specific needs of the customer and provides:

• Mission spaces optimised for the prime mine warfare role.
• Hullform and hydrodynamics designed for a wide range of conditions and locations.
• Efficient and effective propulsion arrangement for speed, accuracy and manoeuvrability.
• Survivability measures and low radar signatures.
• Scaleable self-defence and surveillance capabilities.

 

• In action
• Working deck
• Light gun
• Command options

• 

  Venari in action – mothership to multiple UAVs and UUVs

• 

  Large quarter deck with space for TEU containers and unmanned craft. Note the additional mission equipment garage under flight deck. Medical facilities within the ship can be augmented with a divers decompression chamber hosted in the mission equipment garage.

• 

  Mock up shows Elektronik ARCIMS Unmanned Surface Vehicles on after working deck. USVs are deployed and recovered using motion-compensated davits, enabling the launch and recovery of systems in higher sea states.

• 

  A large bridge has enough workspace to command the ship’s surveillance, self-defence activities & safe operation of unmanned vehicles. Alternatively, missions can be directed from the ops room below the flight deck.

The RN is currently in the ‘assessment phase of its Mine countermeasures and Hydrographic Capability (MHC) programme looking at possible replacements for Sandown and Hunt class minehunters. The concept phase determined that these would be simple steel “mother ships” deploying unmanned, off-board systems (OBS) that take the man out of the minefield by conducting the hunting entirely using autonomous vehicles. Venari meets this criteria but adds further capability. It is significantly bigger than existing RN vessels, being really a hybrid OPV. The flight deck and hangar can host a manned helicopter, up to the size of the AW159 Wildcat, with facilities to provide in-flight refuelling of larger aircraft if required. There is space for forward that would allow mounting a medium calibre gun.

This concept is very attractive as it would offer significant flexibility and increase the number of available patrol vessels. Unfortunately, it is difficult to imagine RN would get funding for sufficient of these potentially more capable vessels. The RN is already down to 15 minehunters. Selecting a Venari type concept would probably require trading some mine hunting capability for a broader patrol capability.

BMT Continue to produce innovate naval concepts, and even if the RN does not take Venari forward, there are plenty of foreign navies this hybrid approach may appeal to. BMT will also have a keen interest in whether their Venator 110 concept may be taken up by the RN when announcements on the Type 31e programme are made by the MoD at DESI later this week.

 

Related articles

• Venari 85 Data sheet (BMTDSL)

from Save the Royal Navy http://www.savetheroyalnavy.org/bmt-introduces-venari-85-candidate-for-future-rn-mine-warfare-vessel/