The Observer – Britain is to send the frigate HMS Northumberland to combat piracy off the East African coast amid concerns that a spate of violent attacks on shipping could drive up oil prices.

Daily Telegraph – The Royal Navy has mothballed almost half of its remaining fleet of destroyers as it desperately attempts to save money in the face of a plunging budget.

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Defense Technology International – Contractor sea trials of the first of the British Royal Navyís Type 45 air defense destroyers ñ HMS Daring – have now been concluded, with the type to be accepted by the service in December for further tests.

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The Times – The government is planning further big cuts to the Royal Navy after deciding that terrorism is the only serious threat to Britain. Annual accounts from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) show that it is to cut funding for new ships and equipment by more than 20%, from about £1.8 billion a year to a maximum of £1.4 billion.
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Cayman Net News – Royal Navy Warship, HMS Iron Duke and Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessel Wave Ruler have now arrived in the vicinity of the Cayman Islands, ready to render assistance if required in the wake of Hurricane Gustav.
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Guardian – A fire that killed two sailors aboard a nuclear-powered submarine as it patrolled beneath the Arctic ice was caused by a catalogue of errors that could have been avoided.
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Daily Telegraph – The Royal Navy captain in charge of the HMS Cornwall during the Iranian hostage fiasco has suffered a “shattering blow” to his career after he was relieved of command.
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Daily Telegraph – The Royal Navy will this weekend be forced to provide emergency cover for Britain’s coastline because of a two-day strike by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
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BBC -The Ministry of Defence has signed contracts worth £3.2bn to build the UK’s biggest ever aircraft carriers.
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Associated Press – The British Royal Navy ship on which Prince William is serving made a major cocaine bust in the north Atlantic.
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The Times – Prince William is to go into action fighting the modern-day pirates of the Caribbean. He may be armed if he joins Royal Navy boarding parties that stop cocaine traffickers trying to smuggle drugs in fast launches.

The role is a consolation to the prince after he was banned from going to war in the Gulf with the Royal Navy because of fears his presence could provoke a terrorist attack on British ships.

Daily Telegraph – Prince William to take on Caribbean drug lords
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The Times – A British nuclear-powered submarine was damaged when it collided with rocks in the Red Sea
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The Times – A Royal Navy nuclear-powered submarine struck the bottom of the sea at more than 14 knots because of basic navigational errors made during a training exercise for three students on board.
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The Times – Doubts over the Government’s plan to order two 65,000-tonne aircraft carriers were lifted yesterday when the Ministry of Defence announced that it was ready to sign the £3.9 billion contract. A full audit of the carrier programme, including an assessment of whether there will be enough crew and pilots to man the huge vessels, has been ordered by one of the MoD’s senior military commanders.
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The Times – Two hundred years after the battle of Trafalgar, the Royal Navy could end up sharing the pride of its fleet with the French. Driven by spiralling budgets, the two navies began talks last week aimed at sharing their aircraft carriers.
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The Times – They were meant to be the pride and joy of Britainís 21st-century fleet, an emblem of its pre-eminence as a military and diplomatic power. But last night it emerged that the imminent announcement of the commissioning of two aircraft carriers at a total cost of £4 billion has left some of the countryís senior military leaders deeply unhappy.
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The Times – The Royal Navy, once the scourge of brigands on the high seas, has been told by the Foreign Office not to detain pirates because doing so may breach their human rights.
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The Guardian – The MoD is increasingly outsourcing to the private sector. It’s leasing aircraft and ships today; will it be tanks and armies tomorrow?
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The Times – The Ministry of Defence will reluctantly hand control of a project to build two new aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy to BAE Systems in an attempt to avoid a £700 million tax bill.
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Defense Technology International – BAE Systems is working on the design of new-generation ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) for the Royal Navy, under a two-year study program that started after a March 2007 parliamentary vote. The SSBNs are expected to extend the life of the UK’s independent deterrent to at least 2040, together with participation in the US Navy’s Trident D5 Life Extension program and development of a new warhead, either built in the UK or collaboratively developed with the US.
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The Times – They can wipe out entire nations, and the British government plans to build even more. Are the Trident nuclear submarines essential for peacekeeping, or are they just expensive relics of the cold war? We meet the men with their fingers on the trigger.
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Financial Times – The Ministry of Defence is examining possible delays to its £4bn contract for two new aircraft carriers as it struggles to meet Treasury demands for swingeing cuts to its budget.
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Daily Telegraph – The Royal Navy can no longer fight a major war because of years of under funding and cutbacks, a leaked Whitehall report has revealed.
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Defense Technology International – A British Defense Ministry decision to halt air-to-air refueling of its Nimrod MR2 maritime patrol and surveillance aircraft will almost certainly curtail the aircraftís operational availability in Afghanistan and Iraq.
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Daily Telegraph – HMS Illustrious will be deployed in the Gulf next spring.
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