Navy Lookout – We visited HMS Mersey to speak with the Commanding Officer and learn how this Batch I OPV continues to make a valuable contribution to UK maritime security. Now more than two decades old, Mersey remains an active and adaptable platform, with recent upgrades and new ways of working helping to extend her utility.

Naval News – After a gap of two decades, the UK Royal Navy (RN) is reintroducing an influence minesweeping capability as part of the broader recapitalisation of its mine countermeasures (MCM) force under the Mine Hunting Capability (MHC) programme.

Navy Lookout – The new First Sea Lord, General Gwyn Jenkins, used his opening address at DSEI 2025 to set out an uncompromising plan to move the Royal Navy to full war-fighting readiness within four years. He stressed that the era of incremental change is over and that taut delivery timelines must drive every programme from now on.

Navy Lookout – HMS Tyne has already steamed more than 32,000 nautical miles in 2025 on operations close to the UK. Here we look briefly at the activity of the ship and the value of the OPVs

Navy Lookout – The current condition of the RN is alarming, with almost every aspect of its capabilities understrength or overstretched. This long-form article assesses the current situation, analyses the root causes, and considers how improvements can be achieved.

Navy Lookout – HMS Prince of Wales has completed a double replenishment at sea in the Philippine Sea, receiving fuel, ammunition, and stores from a US supply ship while continuing fast jet and helicopter operations. The evolution highlights RN reliance on allied logistics support amid the absence of a dedicated solid stores replenishment ship.

Center for Maritime Strategy – The ongoing deployment of the British carrier strike group to the Indo-Pacific, named Operation High Mast,” was in the news this week for both regular and unusual reasons. The strike group is  participating in the semi-annual Pacific exercise Talisman Sabre but it also came under fire from American Under Secretary of Defense Elbridge Colby, who purportedly commented that the United States did not want the U.K. naval group in the Pacific and preferred that it instead cover Britain’s own near abroad, perhaps in the North Atlantic or Mediterranean Sea. Opinions differ on where and when U.S. allies should deploy in support of U.S. operations, but Operation High Mast is not a new concept. It is a scaled down version of the early twentieth century global voyage of the U.S. Great White Fleet. This concept, with the modern label of a “cruising strategy,” has been employed by the U.K. Royal Navy on numerous occasions; from the largely successful Empire Cruise of 1923-1924, and the disastrous mission of Force Z, which included the namesake of the present HMS Prince of Wales currently conducting Operation Highmast. A cruising strategy is a good way for a power with limited resources to “show the flag” with its arguable best ships in support of wider geostrategy. It does however have significant limitations in that the cruising force might not be in the right place at the right time to directly impact national policy.

Navy Lookout – The RN has re-established a minesweeping capability for the first time in nearly two decades with the acceptance of three USV-based autonomous Combined Influence Sweep systems, developed and delivered under the Mine Hunting Capability (MHC) Block 1 programme.

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.