– Military.com – A Marine Corps F-35B Joint Strike Fighter squadron will make history by deploying aboard the British Royal Navy’s newest aircraft carrier — the first deployment of its kind and one that could serve as a model for the new normal.

– Defense News – When British Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson announced in February that his ministry would create two “littoral strike groups,” some naval experts turned their heads in confusion.

– Forces Network – This could mark a radical new stage in the evolution of underwater warfare.

– RAF CASPS – The importance of maritime air operations and the characteristics desired in a maritime patrol aircraft.

– USNI News – One of three British Bay-class landing ships has spent nearly two years in the Western Atlantic and the Caribbean Sea, both looking after British interests as well as finding ways to partner with the U.S. Navy.

– USNI News – Britain’s Ministry of Defence is exploring options for the development of an Extra Large Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (XLUUV) to conduct covert missions at distances of up to ranges 3,000 nautical miles for three months at a time for the Royal Navy.

– Navy Times – A British amphibious warship embarked with U.S. Navy sailors is slated to operate out of this Virginia port for what officials term a two-week “experiment” to test new mine warfare techniques.

– War Zone – They are a low-cost addition to ships’ layered defenses used to counter anti-ship missiles and the Royal Navy want to invest in improved models.

– BBC – The UK should end its control of the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean (and Diego Garcia) “as rapidly as possible”, the UN’s highest court has said.

– Forces Network – Littoral strike ships are able to command an assault force, rather than simply transporting it.

– War Zone – The United Kingdom says new forward-deployed task forces will use to ships to ‘make Global Britain a reality.’

– RUSI – A British naval presence in the South China Sea strengthens global security and Britain’s global role. But it must be matched with a more systematic approach to the region, and to China’s defiance of legal norms.

– The Hill – Great Britain is returning to seaways “east of Suez,” decades after freeing its colonies and withdrawing, more or less, to the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean. A warship from Britain’s Royal Navy demonstrated on behalf of nautical freedom in the South China Sea last September, drawing a stern rebuke from China. This month the frigate HMS Argyll joined the destroyer USS McCampbell for six days’ worth of exercises in the South China Sea.

– Navy Times – U.S. and British navy ships conducted joint maneuvers in the South China this month in what they called a sign of their shared emphasis on regional peace and stability.

– BBC – A Royal Navy warship which has been sent to Ukraine will send a strong message to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the UK’s defence secretary says.

– Sky News – Sources tell Sky News that senior RAF officers are pushing for a version of a supersonic warplane that can only fly from land.

– Defense News – Britain is beefing up its commitment to defense of the Arctic and the High North regions.

– Breaking Defense – For the first time, a Royal Navy pilot has taken off and landed an F-35B on a British aircraft carrier, eight years after the UK retired its last generation of aircraft carriers.

– Guardian – China Daily decries ‘reckless actions’ after HMS Albion sails close to disputed Parcel islands.

– Guardian – International court to hear testimony from 22 countries over Indian Ocean archipelago.

– BBC – A century ago the UK started work on the world’s first purpose-built aircraft carrier. Soon the first jets will fly off the massive deck of her latest successor – the giant HMS Queen Elizabeth. Along with her sister ship, HMS Prince of Wales, they’re the largest warships ever to be built for the Royal Navy.

– Defense News – Britain’s Ministry of Defence is restarting its contest to build five general purpose frigates for the Royal Navy after it terminated the original competition due to insufficient interest from industry.

– CIMSEC – A conversation with Dr. Eric Grove on the UK’s maritime strategy, the evolution of its national security strategy in the post-9/11 era, and force structure debates in the current era.

– USNI News – The U.K.’s new Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers should be able to conduct warfighting missions without support from allied forces, an influential parliamentary committee insisted last week. The regeneration of fading anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities, the retention of amphibious shipping and the acquisition of a surface ship-launched land attack missile must also be top priorities for a cash-strapped Royal Navy, according to the House of Commons’ Defence Committee (HCDC).

– Daily Mail – The British Royal Navy’s six Type 45 £1 billion destroyers barely ever leave their docks.