Navy Lookout – RFA Argus arrived in Portsmouth on 8th June, but is now unable to sail to Falmouth for repair as her safety certification has been withdrawn. This means the Royal Navy / RFA currently does not have a single active amphibious vessel.

USNI News – U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II fighters will join Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales (R09) on its Pacific deployment, according to the Royal Navy.

The War Zone – After a four-decade period of service, the UK has called time on the Trafalgar class, as it looks to an expanded future force of hunter-killers.

NavyLookout – HMS Anson arrived back on the Clyde this morning. This confirms no RN submarine has been deployed in support of the Carrier Strike Group deployment for the Indo-Pacific leg, and there are no RN SSNs at sea for now.

Navy Lookout – Having already spent part of 2024 in dry dock, HMS Queen Elizabeth leaves Portsmouth today for another period in Rosyth. Here we look at how the aircraft carriers are being maintained and the rationale behind the work programme.

Navy Lookout – The Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft has become a key element of NATO’s efforts to monitor the increasingly contested undersea domain in the North Atlantic. Flown by the RAF while supporting Royal Navy and allied operations, the UK’s Poseidon fleet forms part of a growing community of users working together through shared infrastructure, common systems and aligned strategic aims.

Navy Lookout – The UK’s investment in the F-35 Lightning II fleet represents the most advanced combat air capability ever fielded by the Royal Navy or RAF. In a report published by the National Audit Office today, it is clear, this formidable aircraft risks being undermined by the chronic lack of people and under-delivery of the infrastructure, weapons, and support needed to realise its full potential.

Navy Lookout – Royal Navy frigate, HMS Lancaster, has reached the end of her life and will return home to be decommissioned later this year. There are no warships available to replace her, and her departure marks the end of a significant RN permanent presence in the Gulf region, at least for now.

Navy Lookout – Speaking at the NATO conference on 24th June, the Prime Minister announced the RAF will be equipped with F-35A jets to deliver free-fall nuclear bombs. In this article, we focus on the issues around the selection of this aircraft.

USNI News – HMS Prince of Wales Pacific is underway in a last series of test to prove the operational capability of the Royal Navy’s carrier strike group.

Navy Lookout – Royal Fleet Auxiliary Lyme Bay has arrived at the A&P Tyne shipyard for a period of maintenance and upgrades, the first time an RFA has docked on the River Tyne in over 15 years.

Navy Lookout – On the day the new Shipbuilding Hall at Govan was formally opened, we were invited to BAE Systems’ Clyde facilities to visit HMS Glasgow and see the progress resulting from a £300M portfolio of investment in the yards. 

Naval News – The UK Royal Navy (RN) has detailed the requirements for its future Multi-Role Strike Ship (MRSS), requirements underlining the platform’s importance in providing strike capability to support amphibious operations in littoral environments.

Navy Lookout – In this guest article, David O’Sullivan considers the challenges of the RN’s project CABOT that aims to create an anti-submarine barrier in the North Atlantic based predominantly on autonomous platforms.

Navy Lookout – The Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that on 18th June, Royal Navy OPV, HMS Spey, conducted a transit of the Taiwan Strait as a reaffirmation of the UK’s commitment to freedom of navigation and the rules-based international order.

RUSI – The primacy of the Russian threat to Europe may not eliminate the value of CSG deployments but in the future they should take a different form as dictated by the threat environment. The current emphasis on diplomacy might be better served by less operationally valuable assets.

Navy Lookout – We spoke with Leonardo representatives at the recent Combined Naval Event in Farnborough about the current status of the PROTEUS Rotary Wing Air System (RWAS) project.

Navy Lookout – The RN has released a short video detailing plans for its first XLUAV, acquired under project CETUS, which has now been launched and named XV Excalibur. Here we summarise the presentation and the future of the programme.

Breaking Defense – It will take huge investment in local shipbuilding for the UK to acquire “up to” 12 nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs) under the trilateral AUKUS program, with each vessel estimated to cost $3.4 billion, according to analysts. Even then, potential obstacles tied to shipyard expansion, and financial risk for BAE Systems could conspire to ruin the big ticket procurement altogether, said one expert.

Naval News – The UK Royal Navy has outlined its ambitions for the Maritime Integrated Air and Missile Defence and Strike (M-IAMDS) capability and associated Type 83 destroyer host platform planned for delivery under the Future Air Dominance System (FADS) programme.

Navy Lookout – The SDR has finally been published. Here we focus on what this document and accompanying announcements say or don’t say about the future for the Royal Navy and wider defence issues.

Naval News – The United Kingdom’s latest Strategic Defence Review (SDR) has reiterated the country’s commitment to supporting NATO deterrence and defence requirements and, in so doing, has underlined the UK Royal Navy’s core role in underpinning those requirements in the North Atlantic region.

Navy Lookout – RFA Stirling Castle was acquired to operate as a mothership for autonomous mine-hunting boats. Mainly due to personnel issues, she will shortly be transferred from the civilian RFA and commission into the navy as HMS Stirling Castle.

Navy Lookout – The Future Air Dominance System (FADS) will define the UK’s maritime Integrated Air and Missile Defence (IAMD) and Long-Range Precision Strike (LRPS) capability from the late 2030s. Here we look at the latest thinking on this programme and at the Type 83 destroyer, which will be at the heart of this system.