Sponsored by Bertin Exensor
www.exensor.com
————————————————————————-
26 Jan 24. Spanish Armed Forces modernisation brings defence spending to 1.03% GDP.
Spain has ramped up its procurement list this past year and the Minister of Defence has announced her decision to increase spending in line with plans.
The Spanish Ministry of Defence (MoD) has announced it will increase defence spending to an adequate level that complements the nation’s growing procurement of systems last year.
On 25 January 2024, the Minister of Defence Margarita Robles appeared before the Defence Commission of the Congress of Deputies to underscore three cardinal principles: developing personnel policy, strengthening Spain’s role in international security and modernising the Armed Forces.
The funds will largely support military modernisation. Robles claimed that “All these programmes and projects require… adequate financing.” The Minister added that the budget forecast “is to reach 1.30% of [Spain’s] GDP [gross domestic product] in the 2024”, after going from 0.93% in 2018 to 1.24% in 2023.
Moreover, the Iberian nation is committed to reaching 2% of its GDP in 2029 – a long aspired goal some Nato members have reached while others, such as Poland, have even exceeded.
“This investment in defence – I will not tire of repeating it – results not only in the guarantee of our security, protection, freedom and well-being. “But it acts as a driving force for the national economy, promoting the industrial sector that generates highly qualified employment,” said Robles.
Spanish modernisation programme
In her speech, Robles stressed that “the technological component plays an increasingly important role in the development of operations” and highlighted that during the last five years “we have proceeded to unblock and promote programmes that are so necessary for the Armed Forces and so relevant to the national industry.”
This included F-110 frigates, the S-80 submarine (the first of which, the ‘Isaac Peral’ S-81, was recently delivered to the Navy), the 8×8 wheeled combat vehicle (VCR), or the second phase of the Pizarro armoured programme.
Likewise, the Minister of Defence explained, the programmes for the acquisition of the Chain Support Vehicle (VAC), the High Mobility Rocket Launcher System (SILAM), and the construction of two coastal hydrographic vessels (BAM-IS) have been addressed, while PC Pilatus-21 trainer aircraft or the Navy’s NH-90, among others.
During the International Armoured Vehicles conference, hosted by Defence iQ at Twickenham Stadium, London, a spokesperson noted that the Spanish Army outlined programmes launched in 2023, including the multi-domain missile, Mistral III; NASAMS extended range; tracked support vheicle (VAC);the SILAM artillery system, among other systems.
In addition, the spokesperson referred to potential new programmes this year, including the acquisition of the NBQ Piton support vehicle and C-RPAS Cervus system.
In addition, the Army will also modernise its existing Leopard 2E main battle tanks in its heavy brigade. This MBT is due to reach initial operating capability in 2029.
Areas of improvement are extensive: command, control and communications; fire power; mobility; protection and maintenance.
(Source: Google/army-technology.com)
26 Jan 24. US to station nuclear weapons in UK to counter threat from Russia. Warheads to be housed at RAF Lakenheath for first time in 15 years, Pentagon documents reveal, as Moscow warns of ‘escalation’
The United States is planning to station nuclear weapons in the UK for the first time in 15 years as the threat from Russia increases, Pentagon documents seen by The Telegraph reveal.
Procurement contracts for a new facility at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk confirm that the US intends to place nuclear warheads three times the strength of the Hiroshima bomb at the air base.
The US removed nuclear missiles from the UK in 2008, judging that the Cold War threat from Moscow had diminished.
The disclosure comes in the wake of warnings that Nato countries need to ready their citizens for war with Russia.
Last week, Adml Rob Bauer, a senior Nato military official, said that private citizens should prepare for all-out war with Russia in the next 20 years that would require wholesale change in their lives.
General Sir Patrick Sanders, the head of the British Army, went on to warn that the public would need to be called up to fight if there was war with Russia because the Army was too small. His comments forced Downing Street to rule out conscription.
Boris Johnson on Friday night backed Sir Patrick’s call for a citizen army, as he pledged to sign up if the UK went to war with Russia.
The US navy secretary, Carlos Del Toro, then urged Britain to “reassess” the size of its armed forces. On Friday, No 10 defended the Government’s military spending, pointing out that “the UK is the second biggest defence spender in Nato and the largest in Europe”. (Source: Daily Telegraph)
25 Jan 24. UK ‘Woefully Unprepared,’ If Blast Furnaces Close. As NATO chief warns of war, UK will be unable to make full range of steel needed for warships and other parts of defence supply chain
The UK will be left ‘woefully underprepared’ for any potential conflict if steel blast furnaces are allowed to close, GMB Union has warned to the Defence Secretary today [25 January 2024]
In a letter to Grant Shapps, Secretary of State for Defence [1], the union warns losing the ability to make steel from scratch will ‘significantly impact the security of our essential defence supply chains’.
New, or virgin, steel can only be made using the UK’s four blast furnaces – two at Port Talbot and two at Scunthorpe.
Tata has just announced the closure of the two Port Talbot blast furnaces and plans to replace them with an electric arc furnace, which can only produce recycled steel.
There are fears that British Steel plans to close the blast furnaces at Scunthorpe, leaving the UK with no way to make virgin steel.
Fresh steel is vital for warships and other parts of the defence industry.
The Ministry of Defence previously intervened to secure the future of Sheffield Forgemasters, and GMB calls on the Defence Secretary to act again to safeguard this essential sovereign defence manufacturing capability.
Matt Roberts, GMB National Officer, said: “We live in a turbulent global environment. Both NATO’s defence chief and Mr Shapps himself have warned war in the next two decades is a possibility.
“Yet we are on the brink of losing our full ability to make our own steel, vital to our defence industry – not least in building warships. It’s utter folly. GMB is very clear: we must retain sovereign capability to make virgin steel.”
24 Jan 24. The U.K. government said Wednesday it has no plans to introduce conscription, after the head of the British Army said a “citizen army” would be needed to fight a future war with a country like Russia.
Chief of the General Staff Gen. Patrick Saunders said preparing for a potential land war would have to be a “whole-of-nation” undertaking. He praised European nations closer to Russia for “prudently laying the foundations for national mobilization.”
Saunders, who has long argued for more military spending and is due to leave his job this year, said that “within the next three years, it must be credible to talk of a British Army of 120,000.”
“But this is not enough,” he added during a speech at the International Armored Vehicles conference in London. “Taking preparatory steps to enable placing our societies on a war footing when needed are now not merely desirable but essential.”
He said “Ukraine brutally illustrates that regular armies start wars; citizen armies win them.”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s spokesman, Max Blain, said the government “has no intention” of introducing conscription.
“The British military has a proud tradition of being a voluntary force. There are no plans to change that,” he said.
He added that “engaging in hypothetical wars” was “not helpful.”
Defense Secretary Grant Shapps has also used stark language about the threat to the U.K. Last week he referred to Britain “moving from a post-war to pre-war world.”
Despite that, the government has no plans to increase the size of the army from its current level of about 74,000 full-time troops, down from 102,000 in 2006. The government says it will increase military spending from just over 2% of GDP to 2.5% — still much less than at the height of the Cold War.
The British Army conscripted soldiers during World War I, and again during and after World War II, but it has been an all-volunteer force for most of its 364-year history.
(Source: Defense News Early Bird/AP)
23 Jan 24. UK Special Forces Lead the Charge in Modernization as MOD Advances Army Reforms. One of the United Kingdom’s top military chiefs has emphasized the pivotal role of the British Special Forces in driving the evolution of the wider military. According to the chief, these elite units act as a “vanguard for defence,” spearheading new and innovative ways of working and combat strategies.
In line with this vision, the British Army is undergoing what is termed “the largest and most ambitious programme of modernisation.” This was revealed by the Chief of the General Staff (CGS), General Sir Patrick Sanders, during a keynote speech at the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) exhibition in London. The renewal process is being guided by a new Land Operating Concept and is closely aligned with lessons learned from Ukraine. It is aimed at making the British Army more lethal, agile, expeditionary, and resilient, all supported by a robust digital framework?.
Moreover, the establishment of a new Ranger Regiment, part of the Special Operations Brigade, already marked a significant expansion of the UK’s special forces capabilities. This unit was set to undertake high-threat missions overseas, a role traditionally reserved for the SAS and SBS. Comprising four infantry battalions, the Ranger Regiment operates in environments typically designated for Special Forces troops, significantly enhancing the UK’s global military footprint and response capability? (Source: https://www.sofx.com/)
23 Jan 24. Latvia’s defence budget accelerating in growth. Latvia is primed to boost its defence budget by 70% over the next four years according to research from GlobalData.
Latvia is expected to grow its military budget significantly between 2024 and 2028, according to newly published research in GlobalData’s report on the ‘Latvia Defense Market 2023-2028’, published on 17 January 2024.
Latvia is set to increase its defence budget substantially, reaching nearly $1.7bn by 2028, a significant rise from $1.0bn in 2023. This development follows a trend of increased military spending that accelerated in 2022, coinciding with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The defence budget growth from 2019 to 2023 showed a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.0%, which is expected to increase to a CAGR of 10.5% in the period from 2024 to 2028.
In terms of military modernisation, Latvia’s efforts starting before the Ukraine crisis have since gained urgency. The country is finalising the procurement of UH-60M helicopters from Sikorsky and starting to acquire armoured engineering and personnel vehicles.
This modernisation includes tactical communication systems and plans for further acquisitions to update Latvia’s aging fleet. The Latvian Land Forces are looking to replace light utility vehicles that have been in service for many years, and the Naval Forces are due for significant investment, having not received major upgrades in almost a decade. Although Latvia has phased out Soviet-era military equipment, the ongoing modernisation is deemed essential for the nation’s defence capabilities.
Despite the increase in funding, the Latvian military remains relatively small, which limits the scope of its procurement projects. Currently, Latvia is in the process of acquiring armoured vehicles, tactical trucks, missile defence systems, and helicopters as part of its plan to ramp up military spending over the next decade.
The 2020 Defense Concept in Latvia also underscores the increasing importance of climate change in national security. Rising sea levels and the potential uninhabitability of certain global regions could lead to heightened inequality, insecurity, and conflict, which may indirectly affect Latvia, particularly in the strategically important Baltic Sea region. (Source: army-technology.com)
24 Jan 24. UK military exodus prompts British Army public call-up proposal. Why, despite increased spending and the threat from Russia, has the UK military declined to its smallest size in centuries?
Should war break out with Russia, the UK public will be enlisted to fight because the country’s military numbers are too small, head of the British Army General Sir Patrick Sanders will reportedly warn at the International Armoured Vehicles expo in Twickenham today (24 January).
While Sanders is not in favour of conscription, The Telegraph reported, he will call on the government to develop a contingency plan to “mobilise the nation”.
Sanders’ remarks come against the backdrop of a UK military retention crisis, with a 4% drop in Army, Air Force and Navy service members from 2022 to 2023.
His comments were supported by MP Tobias Elwood, a former defence minister, who has repeatedly pushed for an increased defence budget and troop recruitment.
“As authoritarian states exploit our timidity … Patrick Sanders is saying prepare for what’s coming over the horizon,” Elwood told Sky News. “There’s a 1939 feel to the world right now.”
Meanwhile, Nato Admiral Rob Bauer said that nations should be prepared to “find more people if it comes to war”, and to consider “mobilisation, reservists or conscription”.
Sanders, who became head of the British Army in June 2022, is set to leave the role later this year – an unusually short term. He will be replaced by current deputy chief of the defence staff Lieutenant General Sir Roland Walker.
Undervalued and dissatisfied – the UK military exodus
While Sanders’ and Elwood’s calls for a rise in UK defence spending and soldier enlistment seem a superficially logical response to Russian aggression, lingering issues over soldier retention and arms procurement remain.
A recent Ministry of Defence (MoD) survey found that just 34% of service personnel said they felt valued while 46% felt dissatisfied with the standard of their accommodation.
In the past year, 16,260 service members have left the UK Armed Forces, which have struggled to retain female personnel amid a sexual harassment crisis.
“Sanders recognised that despite the British military’s strong technical capabilities, its lack of critical mass in terms of personnel would pose a significant challenge in a high-intensity conflict,” GlobalData defence analyst Tristan Sauer told Army Technology.
Despite retention woes, the UK boasts an array of innovative capabilities in arms technology.
Last week, the MoD successfully demonstrated its new ‘DragonFire’ laser weapon system (LWS) at the Hebrides Range, just off the northwest coast of Scotland.
The MoD said DragonFire can precisely target a £1 coin from a kilometre away and costs roughly only £10 per ‘shot’.
But numerous procurement projects – chiefly the Ajax armoured vehicle programme – have faced prolonged difficulties.
Safety issues and production delays aside, Ajax has risen in taxpayer cost from $4.3m to $5.5m, according to estimations by the MoD and House of Commons.
UK defence budget set to keep rising
Many other projects have downsized over time, reducing the intended fleet sizes if not the allocated budget.
Such a recipe means the UK’s defence budget is set to rise to $66bn in 2024, according to GlobalData, even as overall force sizes remain at historic lows.
Other Nato members, meanwhile, are bolstering defence spending and troop sizes.
In the Russia-bordering Baltic states, conscription has been made mandatory for male citizens once again.
Last Friday (19 January), the defence ministers of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia announced the construction of anti-mobility defensive installations on the borders with Russia and Belarus.
The Swedish government intends to increase its defence budget by 28% following Türkiye’s long-awaited approval of Stockholm’s Nato membership bid yesterday (23 January).
While Sauer reiterated that military conscription is a last resort in the event of fully-fledged war, he called on the MoD and UK government to prepare a strategy for such a scenario.
“It is incumbent on current and future UK governments to formulate a strategy capable of mobilising the public much like what has occurred in Ukraine over the past two years.” (Source: army-technology.com)
23 Jan 24. Public face call-up if we go to war, military chief warns.
General says Army is too small and Government needs to ‘mobilise the nation’ in the event of conflict with Russia.
The British public will be called up to fight if the UK goes to war because the military is too small, the head of the Army is to warn.
General Sir Patrick Sanders will stress the need for the Government to “mobilise the nation” in the event of war with Russia in a speech on Wednesday.
With the British Army being reduced to its smallest size for centuries, The Telegraph understands Gen Sir Patrick, who has been openly critical of troop cuts, wants British men and women to be prepared for a call-up if Nato goes to war with Putin.
It comes after a senior Nato military official warned that private citizens should prepare for an all-out war with Russia in the next 20 years, which would require wholesale change in their lives.
Adml Rob Bauer said that nations needed to be prepared to “find more people if it comes to war”, and to consider “mobilisation, reservists or conscription”.
‘Shift’ in the mindset
The Army chief would not support conscription, it is understood, but believes there should be a “shift” in the mindset of regular British people, where they think more like troops, who are mentally prepared that war with Russia could happen.
Gen Sir Patrick, who will stand down as Chief of the General Staff in six months, will make his speech at the International Armoured Vehicles expo in Twickenham.
In 2022, Gen Sir Patrick used a speech to warn that the UK was facing its “1937 moment” over the war in Ukraine, and said Britain must be ready to “fight and win” to ward off the threat from Russia.
He said: “This is our 1937 moment. We are not at war, but must act rapidly so that we aren’t drawn into one through a failure to contain territorial expansion.”
Vladimir Putin is on the front foot in Ukraine and has tripled Russia’s military expenditure, while Nato is struggling to replenish weapon stocks it has given to Kyiv.
On Tuesday, the chief of Norway’s armed forces said the country must increase defence spending in the face of a potential war with Russia within three years, following its neighbour Sweden in urging citizens to brace for conflict.
Defence fears if Trump wins
Meanwhile, the US is struggling to pass a $100bn military aid package for Ukraine amid Republican opposition, with defence sources warning that if Donald Trump wins the presidential race it will hand Russia victory.
Mr Trump has previously pledged to end the supply of American munitions which have been used to win back territory captured by Russia since February 2022.
On Tuesday, Grant Shapps, the Defence Secretary, met with the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, where he urged others to join the UK in increasing their aid. This year the UK plans to raise its military aid to £2.5 bn.
The UK spends 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence, and Mr Shapps has said he would like to increase this to 3 per cent, though he failed to set a date last week for the target.
Cabinet tensions over defence spending have emerged as Penny Mordaunt, the former secretary of state, warned Mr Shapps earlier this week that Britain’s national interests were at risk unless the Royal Navy kept pace with hostile nations.
All three armed forces are experiencing a recruitment and retention crisis, with the number of fully trained soldiers in the Army set to fall to 72,500.
Recruitment and retention crisis
The number of regular troops in the Army stands at 75,983, although defence sources insisted applications for the Army were at the highest they had been in six years.
Last week Capita, the outsourcing specialist in charge of the Army’s recruitment, said soldiers who have visible tattoos, hay fever or a record of asthma should be allowed to join to solve the crisis.
The Royal Navy is struggling to hire more than the other forces, with just 29,000 full-time recruits.
Earlier this month The Telegraph revealed that the Navy has so few sailors it will have to decommission two warships to staff its new class of frigates.
HMS Westminster and HMS Argyll will be decommissioned this year, with the crews sent to work across the new fleet of Type 26 frigates as they come into service.
A recent MoD survey found that just 34 per cent of service personnel said they felt valued while 46 per cent felt dissatisfied with the overall standard of their accommodation. Over the past year, 16,260 personnel have left the Armed Forces.
It comes as the forces struggle to retain female personnel amid a sex harassment crisis engulfing the military.
In 2012, Capita was awarded a 10-year contract by the MoD to work on its recruitment. In 2020, this was extended by two years.
This year, having been given the task of recruiting 9,813 people, Capita admitted it has so far only recruited 5,000.
It came as Ukraine was hit by a wave of Russian missiles on Tuesday, in attacks that killed eight people and wounded dozens in Kyiv and Kharkiv. (Source: Daily Telegraph)
24 Jan 24. Failure to deal with Trident concerns ‘puts Scots lives at risk.’ FAILING to address acute concerns about the state of Trident nuclear submarines is putting Scottish lives “at risk” and shows Westminster’s “blatant disregard for Scotland”, an MP has said.
Martin Docherty-Hughes issued the warning ahead of a debate in Parliament today, in which he will attempt to get answers from the UK Government over serious concerns raised by a top insider about Britain’s nuclear weapons.
The SNP defence spokesperson will lead an adjournment debate on Wednesday evening to highlight bombshell comments from former top government adviser Dominic Cummings.
Cummings sparked concerns about Trident when he claimed to have sought assurances from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak that he would deal with the “scandal” of nuclear weapons infrastructure which he described as a “dangerous disaster and a budget nightmare of hard-to-believe and highly classified proportions”.
Docherty-Hughes (above), the SNP’s defence spokesperson said: “The UK Government must investigate and come clean over whether there is any truth to the comments made by the former prime minister’s chief advisor.”
The West Dunbartonshire MP represents an area close to HMNB Clyde, also known as Faslane, where Trident missiles are kept.
He called on the UK Government to address safety issues with nuclear submarines “as a matter of urgency”.
It comes after we revealed that two nuclear submarines currently in action have repeatedly had their life expectancies extended, despite past predictions that both would be out of commission by this year.
Docherty-Hughes added: “The SNP are clear that the nuclear weapons programme should be scrapped.
“However, whilst the UK Government continues to impose the bn-pound Trident programme upon Scotland, and while it remains on Scottish soil, the Ministry of Defence has a responsibility to ensure any structural or mechanical issues within either Faslane or Coulport bases are addressed as a matter of urgency.
“By failing to take the necessary steps, they are placing the lives of the workers and those in the surrounding communities in danger and making clear their blatant disregard for Scotland.”
The MoD did not respond to a request for comment. (Source: News Now/https://www.thenational.scot/news)
24 Jan 24. Turkey approves Sweden’s NATO membership bid after 20-month delay.
- Summary
- Hungary’s approval still needed to enlarge Western bloc
- Turkey, Hungary approved Finland, but kept Sweden waiting
- Ankara urged Stockholm to crack down on militant group
- Erdogan linked Sweden ratification to U.S. F-16s sales
Turkey’s parliament ratified Sweden’s NATO membership bid on Tuesday, clearing the biggest remaining hurdle to expanding the Western military alliance after 20 months of delay.
Turkey’s general assembly, where President Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling alliance holds a majority, voted 287-55 to approve the application that Sweden first made in 2022 to bolster its security in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
All NATO members need to approve applications from countries seeking to join the alliance. When Sweden and Finland asked to join in 2022, Turkey raised objections over what it said was the two countries’ protection of groups it deems terrorists.
It endorsed Finland’s membership in April last year but, along with Hungary, had kept Sweden waiting.
“We support NATO enlargement to improve the alliance’s deterrence efforts… We hope Finland and Sweden’s attitude towards fighting terrorism sets an example for our other allies,” Fuat Oktay, head of parliament’s foreign affairs commission and a ruling AK Party member, said during debate.
“I greatly appreciate the Turkish Parliament’s decision to approve Sweden’s entry into NATO today,” U.S. Ambassador Jeff Flake said in a written statement on Tuesday.
He said Turkey’s “commitment to the NATO Alliance clearly demonstrates our enduring partnership.”
Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom also welcomed the Turkish parliament’s approval. “We now look forward to President Erdogan signing the ratification document,” Billstrom said in a written statement.
Erdogan is expected to sign the legislation within days, leaving Hungary – whose Prime Minister Viktor Orban has friendly relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin – as the only member state not to have approved Sweden’s accession.
Orban said earlier on Tuesday he had invited his Swedish counterpart to visit and negotiate his country joining the bloc. Hungary’s parliament is in recess until around mid-February.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the Turkish move and said: “I also count on Hungary to complete its national ratification as soon as possible.”
Turkey and Hungary maintain better relations with Russia than other members of the U.S.-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
While opposing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Turkey has criticised Western sanctions on Moscow. For its part, Russia has cautioned that it would respond if NATO bolstered military infrastructure in the two Nordic states.
Sweden, whose membership bid marked a historic shift away from a non-aligned security policy, would enhance NATO defences in the Baltic Sea region facing Russia.
DEMANDS AND CONCESSIONS
Turkey’s delays had frustrated some of its Western allies and enabled it to extract some concessions.
Ankara had urged Stockholm to toughen its stance on local members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which the European Union and United States also deem a terrorist group.
In response, Stockholm introduced a new anti-terrorism bill that makes being a member of a terrorist organisation illegal. Sweden, Finland, Canada and the Netherlands also took steps to relax policies on arms exports to Turkey.
In parliament, Oktay said Erdogan’s AK Party endorsed Sweden’s NATO bid after its positive steps fighting terrorism.
The AKP’s nationalist allies MHP and the main opposition CHP also endorsed Sweden’s bid. Opposition nationalist, Islamist and leftist parties rejected it, while four MPs abstained.
Erdogan, who had sent Sweden’s bid to parliament in October, linked the ratification to U.S. approval of sales of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey.
The White House backs the sale and some analysts expect a deal to swiftly follow Turkey’s approval of Sweden’s bid. But there is no clear time frame for the U.S. Congress to approve the deal. (Source: Reuters)
23 Jan 24. RFA Fort Victoria to miss RN carrier deployment in Steadfast Defender. The final remaining UK solid support vessel will not participate in the Nato exercise taking place in the first half of the year as it undergoes maintenance.
The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has seemingly broken from standard practice regarding operational naval deployments to confirm that the Royal Fleet Auxiliary’s (RFA) sole remaining solid support vessel, RFA Fort Victoria, will not participate in Exercise Steadfast Defender this year.
Rather, the vessel has been described as “currently in port ready to commence a planned maintenance period”, according to James Cartlidge, Minister for Defence Procurement at the MoD.
“While we do not disclose the fine detail of forward availability forecasts to preserve the operational security of the fleet, I can exceptionally confirm that RFA Fort Victoria was never tasked to participate in Exercise Steadfast Defender 2024,” Cartlidge stated.
The UK MoD will normally decline to comment on upcoming deployments due to operational security reasons but has deemed it necessary to do so in this instance.
The planned maintenance period comes on the back of an extensive £18m ($22.9m) refit of RFA Fort Victoria in 2022. Since the refit, additional work has been undertaken on the vessel by Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead costing approximately £2.3m, according to official figures.
As of July 2023, the planned out-of-service date (OSD) for RFA Fort Victoria is 2028. This timeframe creates a minimum three-year capability gap between the current vessel leaving service and the introduction of the first of an eventual three-ship class of new solid support vessels, under the Fleet Solid Support (FSS) ship programme.
From the start of manufacture of the FSS programme in 2025 it will take six years before the first of the ships will enter service, at some point in 2031.
No solid support – what’s the problem?
Solid support vessels form a key logistics element to the sustaining of a deployed carrier strike group (CSG), which usually incorporates a number of surface combatants (frigates and destroyers) and an aircraft carrier. Support ships provide the stores, ammunition, and fuel required in order to sustain a floating airfield at sea for an extended period of time.
The RFA Fort Victoria is the UK’s only solid support ship and was part of the UK Royal Navy’s CSG21 deployment to the Asia Pacific in 2021, which tested the operational capabilities of the new Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers.
The UK has recently confirmed that it will be sending another CSG to the Asia-Pacific region in 2025, which could be the final long-range deployment of RFA Fort Victoria before its current planned OSD. Given the four-year gap between CSG21 and the upcoming CSG25, RFA Fort Victoria will have to undergo recertification should the vessel be retained beyond 2028 to the potential future CSG mission in 2029.
With Fort Victoria in maintenance, the deployment of a Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier to Nato’s Exercise Steadfast Defender, due to take place between February and May this year, will be performed without a solid support vessel. Given the likely operational area of Steadfast Defender, the proximity to friendly ports means the Queen Elizabeth-class carrier deployed will not require such support.
The lack of a UK carrier in the Red Sea or Middle East region as the Houthi movement in Yemen, backed by Iran, continues to attack merchant shipping transiting the Bab el Mandeb straight, has been noted by observers. Instead, the UK has participated in US-led strikes on Houthi military targets in Yemen, most recently on 22 January, using Typhoon fighter based in Cyprus, thousands of kilometres distant.
The ability for the UK to have a similar capability as a US Navy aircraft carrier, a ‘slot into’ gaps created by US carrier deployment, was a prime driver in the development of the Queen Elizabeth class, which have not undertaken any combat missions from their flight decks since entering service in 2017.
Fort Victoria replacement – the FSS
In January 2023 the UK MoD awarded a £1.6bn contract to Team Resolute, comprised of UK ship designers BMT, UK shipyard Harland & Wolff (Belfast and Appledore), with Navantia UK, an arm of Spanish shipbuilder Navantia, acting as prime, to deliver three FSS ships to the RFA by 2032.
The FSS programme will return major naval shipbuilding back to Northern Ireland and Devon, England, with around £77m from the total contract amount being invested for infrastructure upliftment at Harland & Wolff’s shipyards in Belfast and Appledore (Devon) in the UK.
However, fully one-third of each vessel will be manufactured outside of the UK. Each of the FSS vessels will be assembled from 21 blocks, 14 of which comprise the mid and forward sections to be built by Harland & Wolff in the UK, while seven aft blocks will be built by Navantia in Cadiz before being transported to the UK for final outfitting and integration. (Source: naval-technology.com)
22 Jan 24. Crash involving two Royal Navy warships in Bahrain caused estimated £25m of damage. A collision involving two Royal Navy warships caused about £25m worth of damage, Forces News understands, with the accident thought to have been caused by a wiring issue.
HMS Chiddingfold crashed into HMS Bangor while trying to berth in Bahrain Harbour.
HMS Bangor was already berthed when the incident happened, and no personnel on either vessel were injured.
It is unknown how long HMS Bangor will be out of action for, while HMS Chiddingfold only suffered minor damage.
Forces News understands a wiring issue on Chiddingfold caused the crash. As a result HMS Bangor was left with a huge hole in a cabin above the waterline.
The Defence Secretary had previously denied the crash was the result of incompetence.
Grant Shapps told Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips that “sometimes accidents and incidents happen” adding that a full investigation is underway.
When he was asked if it incompetence was to blame, Mr Shapps said: “We don’t say it’s incompetence when we see an aircraft come down – a very rare occasion – just as this would be a rare occasion.
“It’s right to leave the investigators some time to work out exactly what’s gone wrong. Something clearly did and we need to see what it is.”
This is not the first incident involving HMS Chiddingfold, as in April 2021 she struck HMS Penzance when attempting to berth at the UK’s naval base in Bahrain.
The collision in the Gulf led to approximately £100,000 worth of damage.
(Source: forces.net)
————————————————————————-
Founded in 1987, Exensor Technology is a world leading supplier of Networked Unattended Ground Sensor (UGS) Systems providing tailored sensor solutions to customers all over the world. From our Headquarters in Lund Sweden, our centre of expertise in Network Communications at Communications Research Lab in Kalmar Sweden and our Production site outside of Basingstoke UK, we design, develop and produce latest state of the art rugged UGS solutions at the highest quality to meet the most stringent demands of our customers. Our systems are in operation and used in a wide number of Military as well as Homeland Security applications worldwide. The modular nature of the system ensures any external sensor can be integrated, providing the user with a fully meshed “silent” network capable of self-healing. Exensor Technology will continue to lead the field in UGS technology, provide our customers with excellent customer service and a bespoke package able to meet every need. A CNIM Group Company
————————————————————————-