UK Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

[Silvestre]

Even on the optimistic outlook, where spending is protected on a par with health or schools, that could see total defence personnel fall from around 145,000 to 130,000 by the end of the decade.

In the pessimistic scenario, budgets would be cut by 10 per cent and numbers would fall to 115,000.

However, the Government is currently pledging that spending on defence equipment will increase by one per cent annually over the next parliament.

If that is maintained, Prof Chalmers said, then a worst case scenario could see troop numbers fall to 103,000 – a drop of 29 per cent.

100,000 or 130,000 would be nice in UK. Old Brittish size in 1800's.

 

[FORBIN]

AS-90 SPG

 

[Jeff Head]

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The UK’s submarine industry will benefit from £285 million of investment to continue design work for the Royal Navy’s next generation of nuclear deterrent submarines. The Successor submarine is designed to be one of the most stealthy submarines in the world. It will also be the largest, safest and most technically advanced submarine ever built in the UK.

Under current plans, four Vanguard submarines – which currently maintain the UK’s nuclear deterrent – will be replaced from 2028.

The release of funding for the design work is within the existing Successor programme’s £3.3 billion Assessment Phase. The funding forms part of the MoD’s commitment to spending £163 billion on equipment and equipment support over the next 10 years to keep Britain safe. That includes new strike fighters; more surveillance aircraft; hunter killer submarines; two aircraft carriers; and the most advanced armoured vehicles.

The Successor programme currently employs around 2,200 people in the UK, working for BAE Systems, Babcock and Rolls-Royce. For BAE Systems alone, the funding will sustain over 1,400 jobs on a programme that has already engaged with more than 240 suppliers.

The work is largely based at the home of the UK’s submarine manufacturing industry in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria but also across the UK including sites in Raynesway in Derby and Bristol.

BAE Systems will now proceed with an additional £257 million worth of design work, with a further £22 million at Babcock and £6 million at Rolls-Royce.

All Royal Navy submarines will be based at Faslane by 2020, including the Astute and Trafalgar class attack submarines.

 

[93fiM5]

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View attachment 12080
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Would be nice to see the UK and US working on a replacement SSBN program together and maybe get a price break considering so much is shared already between the Ohios and Vanguards. But I'm sure there is a strong political push to keep more ship building in the UK which is understandable.

-Greg

 

[Jeff Head]

Would be nice to see the UK and US working on a replacement SSBN program together and maybe get a price break considering so much is shared already between the Ohios and Vanguards.

No more likely than it was for both nations to share either the Ohio Class or the Vanguard Class.

Too much pressure from numerous fronts to ever make it possible.

But I'm sure there is a strong political push to keep more ship building in the UK which is understandable.

Exactly...among other similarly understandable reasons.

 

[93fiM5]

No more likely than it was for both nations to share either the Ohio Class or the Vanguard Class.

Too much pressure from numerous fronts to ever make it possible.

Exactly...among other similarly understandable reasons.

Completely agree, just dreaming of more cooperation between the RN and USN. The sharing of missile and warhead technology and even pooling of missiles is a very impressive sign of friendship and defensive ties. Anyway . . . looking forward to seeing more on the Successor program.

-Greg

 

[asif iqbal]

I completely disagree and who says they are not working together

For obvious reasons America and UK will not have a joint programme this is two separate boomers for two seperate navies

However as usual there is much over lap and close co operation between the two programmes this is nothing new

One way in which Virginia SSN cost is coming down is through the sharing commonalities with future UK SSBN programme one area is the common missile compartment (CMC)

Ohio class has 24 tubes reducing to 16 tubes in SSBN-X programme and the UK Trident II D5 missile will also use go through a upgrade to fit onto the new boats

In addition much of the material for long lead items will be placed together for both UK and USA, the share of the work will be divided where UK does part of the job and rest in USA for balance of work load


In addition to CMC, the PWR-3 reactor technology and propulsion technology are both UK and USA shared

Furthermore both nations both cooperated on previous SSBN units since Polaris agreement in 1963

And lastly for UK it's really important they maintain some level of independence from US in terms of national security perspective, you can't share everything UK has to been seen to be able to bring something to the table on its own, yes they got the first nuclear propulsion from US for the HMS Dreadnaught but they still have to be proactive and build their own SSN

 

[Jeff Head]

I completely disagree and who says they are not working together

If you read our responses, you will see that we did not say they were not working together. To the contrary...they are. They use the same Trident missiles for example.

What was said was that the two nations will not jointly design and deploy the same future boomer submarine, no more than they did with the Ohio Class and the Vanguard Class.

The UK has the Successor program. The US has the Ohio replacement program. These will produce two separate submarines. The one poster, 93fiM5, wondered if the US and UK might join together and use the same vessel. My response was, no, they will not.

 

[Brumby]

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This article is reminding the fact that even with the preliminary funding, the Successor program isn't a sure thing. There is generally a lack of political view to fund such a program.

However, the contract award to BAE Systems does not equate to a sure thing the Successors will proceed as planned.

The current government of Prime Minister David Cameron is supportive of a one-for-one replacement of the Vanguards with the new boomers but the odds are in favor of a new regime much less enthused by the need for the U.K. to maintain as large a nuclear deterrent being in power at the time of the final decision.

The Trident program — as the boomers are referred to in the U.K. — was a divisive issue in last year’s referendum for Scottish independence and expected gains of the Scottish National Party in U.K.’s parliament could renew calls for eliminating or scaling back the program.

The opposition Labour party leader Ed Miliband has suggested a “least cost” deterrent implying that a Trident alternative maybe on the table, wrote naval analyst Richard Scott in Jane’s Defence Weekly on Wednesday.

Additionally other political groups in the U.K. have raised the question if Britain needs a Continuous At-Sea Deterrence (CASD).

“The Liberal Democrat party, the junior coalition partner in the current government, has argued against a ‘like-for-like’ replacement of the current deterrent,” wrote Scott.
“While a government Trident Alternatives Review published in 2013 concluded that there was no cheaper credible deterrent option, the Liberal Democrats have called for an end to CASD, and a reduction in the size of the SSBN fleet from four down to three or just two.”

 

[asif iqbal]

HMS Duncan passing through Canakkale Turkey

This year also marks 100 years since allied forces deployed 18 battleships destroyer and cruisers to take Istanbul in 1915 during WWI, Turkish minelayer Nusrat laid mines days before and sank and damaged half a dozen of the warships which lead to a retreat by the allies and landing on Galipoli