USNI News – Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday committed the British government to an expansion of defense spending that confirms London’s ambitions about improving the Royal Navy through the middle of the century.

Naval News – Two Russian Navy intelligence gathering ships have taken up position off the British coast.

National Interest – James Holmes writes that commanders and their civilian masters on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean should think ahead about how to disentangle their forces in a hurry in case a diplomatic crisis looms. They should mix a trifle of skepticism into their enthusiasm for interchangeability and ask: what if?

Defense News – The U.S. Navy and British Royal Navy are preparing to more closely align their futures in a whole host of warfare areas, the U.S. chief of naval operationsannounced Tuesday.

Sun – A Royal Navy officer in charge of 16 nuclear missiles turned up drunk and clutching a bag of grilled chicken. Lt Commander Len Louw was hauled off HMS Vigilant from its temporary base in the US and flown home in disgrace.

(Thanks to Alain)

USNI News – The U.K. Royal Navy has assembled its largest carrier strike group in almost 40 years.

Plymouth Herald – The Royal Navy has tested the world’s most advanced torpedo against one of its own warships – and it is now on the cusp of being added to Silent Service’s hunter-killer and nuclear-deterrent submarines’ arsenal.

(Thanks to Alain)

War Zone – As the United Kingdom prepares its next defense review — the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy — experts close to the program are increasingly talking about a significant cut in the country’s orders for F-35B Lightning jet fighters.

War Zone – An Anglo-American F-35B force will be the centerpiece of the United Kingdom’s biggest carrier air group for 40 years.

Barents Observer – More than 1,200 military personnel, four warships and numerous aircraft took part in the four-nation Barents Sea mission led by the British Navy.

– BBC – Defence chiefs are considering a request from the Home Office for help to deal with migrants attempting to cross the English Channel.

– USNI News – The U.K. Royal Navy plans to send one of its survey vessels to assist Lebanon following a deadly explosion in its capital city’s port.

– Naval News – The River-class Batch 2 offshore patrol vessel (OPV) HMS Trent has been commissioned with the Royal Navy today during a ceremony at Portsmouth Naval Base.

– Irish Mirror – A ferry carrying hundreds of passengers narrowly avoided smashing into a British nuclear-powered submarine killing many and sparking a maritime disaster. A ferry officer spotted the nuke sub’s periscope at the last minute and took action to avoid the collision in the Irish Sea two years ago, an investigation has discovered.

(Thanks to Alain)

– Defense News – Britain’s Royal Navy took delivery of two new aircraft carriers, but a government report on the ships achieving operational capability has laid bare some obstacles toward making a fully effective carrier strike group.

– BBC – Ambitious plans for the Royal Navy’s two new aircraft carriers – each of which cost more than £3bn – will not be met without proper funding, the government spending watchdog has said. The National Audit Office highlighted concerns over missing key elements such as aircraft and support ships.

– War on the Rocks – In early April, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson nearly died. Suffering from COVID-19, Johnson spent three nights in the intensive care unit before eventually recovering and being discharged. Without the expert and round-the-clock attention of his medical team, the prime minister later admitted, he may not have survived. Johnson’s stint in an intensive care unit raised a sensitive question related to British national security — with the prime minister incapacitated, who was authorized, if required, to launch the country’s nuclear weapons?

– Guardian – Nine Royal Navy ships were involved in a major operation shadowing seven Russian vessels who had lingered in the Channel for several days this month as the coronavirus crisis was beginning to worsen in the UK.

– Guardian – Britain has committed itself to buying a new generation of nuclear warheads to replace Trident, which will be based on US technology.

– Naval News – The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) awarded a procurement contract to Maritime Tactical Systems (MARTAC) of Melbourne, Florida, for the procurement of 5 MANTAS T12 unmanned surface vehicles (USV).

– Guardian – The Royal Navy will accompany ships through the Strait of Hormuz amid soaring tensions in the Middle East, following the US’s fatal drone strike on Iran’s top general.

– USNI Proceedings – To prepare for a fight over the western Pacific’s contested islands, there is no better resource than the 1982 Falklands War.

– War Zone – Nuclear submarines have many parallels to fictional starships, but in this case, these super high-tech vessels are made to dive down, not fly up.

– USNI News – The U.K. Royal Navy intends its largest, most advanced warship ever built to be considered interchangeable with U.S. Navy carriers.