British Military Pictures Thread

[alejandrogrossi]

Found it! And a few others of interest:
Attachment 5664Attachment 5665Attachment 5666Attachment 5667Attachment 5668

Again Obi Wan Russell
Thank you so much!!

[navyreco]

French Navy conducts Schiebel Camcopter S-100 trials onboard the new OPV L'Adroit.
Read More: French Navy conducts Schiebel Camcopter S-100 trials onboard its new OPV L'Adroit.

The Royal Navy’s newest submarine has blasted Tomahawk missiles far across the North American skies, as part of its first test firing mission. Pictures show the Tomahawk weapons, which rocketed from HMS Astute at up to 550 miles per hour (885kph) across the Gulf of Mexico. The 5.5-metre-long cruise missile weighs 1,300kg and has a range of more than 1,000 miles.
Read More: HMS Astute SSN test launch Tomahawk cruise missile in Gulf of Mexico

[bd popeye]

Hires
A sailor assigned to the Royal Navy submarine HMS Astute (S119) prepares to raise the flag as the ship arrives at Naval Station Norfolk.



Hires
NORFOLK (Nov. 28, 2011) Sailors aboard the Royal Navy submarine HMS Astute (S119) stand in formation topside as the ship is maneuvered into position upon its arrival at Naval Station Norfolk. Astute is the first in a new class of British nuclear submarines that sets the standard for the Royal Navy in terms of weapons load, communication facilities and stealth. Commissioned on Aug. 27, 2010, the 323-foot, 7,400-ton submarine carries a crew of 98 officers and enlisted personnel, and can travel at speeds of 29-plus knots while submerged. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Todd A. Schaffer/Released)



Hires
NORFOLK (Nov. 28, 2011) The Royal Navy submarine HMS Astute (S119) arrives at Naval Station Norfolk. Astute is the first in a new class of British nuclear submarines that sets the standard for the Royal Navy in terms of weapons load, communication facilities and stealth. Commissioned on Aug. 27, 2010, the 323-foot, 7,400-ton submarine carries a crew of 98 officers and enlisted personnel, and can travel at speeds of 29-plus knots while submerged. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Todd A. Schaffer/Released)

[Equation]

How many of the Astute Class is the Royal Navy planning to have?

[bd popeye]

How many of the Astute Class is the Royal Navy planning to have?

..google is your friend!

SSN Astute Class - Naval Technology

The initial order quantity is three, but the UK MoD has stated it is planning a second batch of three. Seven submarines will be built under the Astute class. The performance specification of the Astute is an extension of the performance of the Trafalgar Class batch 1 fleet of the Royal Navy's Second Submarine Squadron, based at Devonport.

[Obi Wan Russell]

The full class as scheduled at the moment are:
HMS Astute S119 in service august 2010
HMS Ambush S120 " " 2013
HMS Artful S121 " " 2015
HMS Audacious S122 " " 2018
HMS Anson S123 " " 2020
HMS Agamemnon S124 " " 2022
HMS Ajax S125 " " 2024

[bd popeye]

^^^ Love those names Obi Wan!

[Obi Wan Russell]

I think Ambush is the perfect name for a sub! Audacious is quite fitting too!

[TerraN_EmpirE]

The Royal navy always had a penchant for aggressive names.

[Equation]

The full class as scheduled at the moment are:
HMS Astute S119 in service august 2010
HMS Ambush S120 " " 2013
HMS Artful S121 " " 2015
HMS Audacious S122 " " 2018
HMS Anson S123 " " 2020
HMS Agamemnon S124 " " 2022
HMS Ajax S125 " " 2024

I noticed it's all in the letter "A". Is this normal practice for the Royal Navy? I like Audacious, not sure about Artful.

[Obi Wan Russell]

I noticed it's all in the letter "A". Is this normal practice for the Royal Navy? I like Audacious, not sure about Artful.

Yes, most though by no means all ship classes in the RN have a 'theme' which was often as simple as the first letter of the names, hence 'A' class (1970s Amazon class or type 21 Frigates), 'B' class (Broadsword class /type 22), 'C' class (type 22 batch 3), 'D' class (Daring class/ type 45 Destroyers), 'E' class (Echo class survey ships) and the new 'A' class (Astute class SSNs).

Previous sub classes also followed the same pattern, Swiftsure (S class) and Trafalgar (T class) SSNs as well as the SSBNs, Resolution (R) class and Vanguard (V) class. Current speculation is that the Type 26 Frigates will be 'F' class, but the RN also has a habit of going off at a tangent with class names such as 'Town' class (type 42), Tribal class (type 81), County class DLGs and the 'Duke' class (type 23). Even the Invincible class were in this pattern, as the 'I' class (Invincible, Illustrious and Indomitable, which became Ark Royal after she was laid down).

[Jeff Head]

Yes, most though by no means all ship classes in the RN have a 'theme' which was often as simple as the first letter of the names, hence 'A' class (1970s Amazon class or type 21 Frigates), 'B' class (Broadsword class /type 22), 'C' class (type 22 batch 3), 'D' class (Daring class/ type 45 Destroyers), 'E' class (Echo class survey ships) and the new 'A' class (Astute class SSNs).

Previous sub classes also followed the same pattern, Swiftsure (S class) and Trafalgar (T class) SSNs as well as the SSBNs, Resolution (R) class and Vanguard (V) class. Current speculation is that the Type 26 Frigates will be 'F' class, but the RN also has a habit of going off at a tangent with class names such as 'Town' class (type 42), Tribal class (type 81), County class DLGs and the 'Duke' class (type 23). Even the Invincible class were in this pattern, as the 'I' class (Invincible, Illustrious and Indomitable, which became Ark Royal after she was laid down).

I hope that those frigates get built in good numbers. What's the latest plans on the run?

Also, a little off topic, but I am sure that with the Iran Embassy crisis more than a few people were wishing the UK had a carrier available. Right now, when the question is raised "Where are the carriers?" the UK does not have a good answer until the QE is commissioned and receives her aircraft...I guess sometime in 2017 or so. Over five years...a long time to be without especially when there is the potential for so much mischief about.

[Obi Wan Russell]

So far I'm only hearing talk of a run of 8 Type 26 frigates for the RN, utterly inadequate to replace the 13 Type 23s, but I think it is a carry over from the now defunct S2C2 project, which envisaged 6-8 high end Frigates (C1), 6-8 medium Frigates (C2) and 8+ smaller multi role 'corvettes' to replace OPVs and MCMVs. The latter was to be a 2000 tonne type but the ships it was to replace will remain in service into the 2020s, so it was dropped. C1 and C2 were to have a common hull if possible and differing weapon and sensor fits. C2 was allowed to wither on the vine as it was seen as underarmed for such a major vessel, leaving C1 to evolve into T26. There will be a few more years of detailed design work before orders are placed, and in essence these ships will provide work for the shipyards currently working on CVF. Efforts continue to secure international involvement in the project to reduce costs, though it looks like the Canadians have opted out to go with a national frigate design.

As to the Iran embassy situation (having flashbacks to the early 80s here!), I'm sure the RAF and the Army Chiefs will be telling Cameron all sorts of nonsense about what they can do to remedy this if need be. Remember in april 82 the Army and RAF heads told Thatcher the Falklands couln't be retaken due to the distance involved, whereas AdM Leach simply said a Carrier Task Force could be sailed in 48 hours. You'd think the lesson to be learned by the 'Light Blue' and the 'Brown Jobs' was to pull their collective socks up, but apparently not.

[advill]

The RN is a professional Navy with a long tradition. The USN is also highly professional. What we fear is with the Defence Cuts by both the UK & US, the capabilities of these two Navies would be seriously effected, much to the glee of some countries. We can only hope that the realities of potential future conflicts would sink into the heads of the respective governments. There's so much the RN & the USN could do with limited number of ships, subs etc.

[bd popeye]

RFA Wave Ruler returns to UK after 21-month deployment

RFA Wave Ruler arrived home yesterday, 12 December 2011, after spending nearly two years working across hurricane zones and drug-trafficking routes.

The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) support ship returned to Portland, Dorset, yesterday morning having left for operations in February 2010.

The ship's primary role has been to undertake the Atlantic Patrol Task (North) around the Caribbean, supporting UK Overseas Territories and underlining Britain's commitment in the region.

This role included carrying vital supplies and stores to small territories hit by natural disasters like hurricanes. With a wide range of disaster relief materials, Wave Ruler was able to provide food, water and shelter where required.

Her crew would also offer medical and humanitarian aid, together with technical assistance using their training, skills, knowledge and experience.




Aerial view of RFA Wave Ruler




RFA Wave Ruler replenishes a Royal Navy frigate at sea




RFA Wave Ruler against a mountainous coastline