– Defense Technology International – With HMS Ark Royal being put out to pasture, the U.K. names the HMS Albion its new flagship.

– Guardian – The Foreign Office stands accused of misleading the public over the plight of thousands of islanders who were expelled from their Indian Ocean homeland to make way for a large US military base.

– The Guardian – Royal Navy flagship back in Portsmouth for decommissioning after defence spending review.

– Defense Technology International – The Harrier GR.9s will depart a British aircraft carrier for the last time on Wednesday.

– Royal Navy – British warship sails into Havana Bay on official visit – The first British warship to visit Cuba since before the 1959 revolution sailed into Havana Bay on Monday, where it was greeted by a Cuban Navy band playing “God Save the Queen.”

– Daily Telegraph – Scrapping Britain’s flagship aircraft carrier made no financial sense and leaves the Falkland Islands vulnerable to a new attack, former senior Navy commanders have claimed.

– BBC – The Royal Navy’s newest and largest attack submarine HMS Astute has run aground off Skye, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has confirmed.

– Daily Telegraph – The Royal Navy is set to lose its ability to fly combat jets off aircraft carriers for the next 26 years under the defence cuts to be announced today.

– Daily Telegraph – One of the Navy’s new £3 billion aircraft carriers will never carry aircraft and will sail for only three years before being mothballed and possibly sold, ministers will announce on Tuesday.

– Daily Telegraph – French and American fighter jets will use British Navy aircraft carriers as budget cutbacks trim the Armed Forces, the Defence Secretary Liam Fox has suggested.

– BBC – A gang of drug smugglers with cocaine worth £16.8m have been caught by a Royal Navy warship in the Caribbean.

– Daily Telegraph – The president of Argentina has described the Royal Navy as pirates and accused the British government of behaving like an imperial power with regard to the Falkland Islands.

– Daily Telegraph – The Royal Navy is set to be reduced to the smallest size in its history after admirals yesterday offered drastic reductions in the fleet in order to save two new aircraft carriers from defence cuts.

– Defense Technology International – One of the big issues the U.K. government appears to be wrestling with in its Strategic Defense and Security Review is whether to cut the planned buy of two aircraft carriers and, if it does so, whether to retain one or none.

– Daily Telegraph – At the heart of rows over the defence review is the cost of equipment – but a balanced Navy, led by new aircraft carriers, could help preserve Britain’s standing in the world

– BBC – The BBC has been given exclusive access on board the Royal Navy’s newest and largest attack submarine at the Royal Navy base on the Clyde in western Scotland.

– BBC – Defence Secretary Liam Fox has ruled out the UK sharing aircraft carriers with France as part of closer defence co-operation and efforts to save money.

Defense Technology International – Royal Navy To Get F-35Cs -Why?

Following the Times report that the UK is looking seriously at Boeing’s upgraded international F/A-18E as a substitute for the F-35B Joint Strike Fighter, the Daily Telegraph now reports that the UK will acquire the catapult-arrest F-35C instead, as part of the current defense review. According to the Telegraph, the F-35C is expected to cost less than the F-35B.

Daily Telegraph – Jump jets to fall victim to spending cuts

New jump jets for the next generation of Royal Navy aircraft carriers will be cancelled to save money.

Daily Telegraph – Royal Navy underfunding has left it ‘inadequate’ for vital tasks, report finds

Britain must to invest in large numbers of cheaper warships if the “dangerously weak” Royal Navy is to guarantee the country’s maritime security, an academic paper has said.

Daily Telegraph – Royal Navy may need to borrow US fighter jets

Britain could be forced to “borrow” American warplanes for its new aircraft carriers as the Armed Forces’ core capabilities are eroded by budget cuts.

Daily Telegraph – Armed forces stunned by Trident bill

Defence chiefs have been left stunned and angry by the Treasury’s refusal to finance the £20 billion cost of replacing Britain’s ageing nuclear deterrent.

BBC – Nato warship destroys pirate boats in Somali Basin

A Royal Navy warship on Nato anti-piracy operations has destroyed two pirate boats in the Somali Basin.

The Guardian – Nuclear submarines went to sea with potentially disastrous defect

British vessels Turbulent and Tireless allowed to leave port with safety valves sealed off, risking catastrophic explosion, leaked memo reveals

Defense Technology International – Serpent’s Tale

“The Type 45 with its Principal Anti-Air Missile System, Sea Viper, and the Samson Radar is arguably the most effective anti-air warfare platform in the world,” proclaims the British government in a recent response to the Defense Committee. Unfortunately, of course, at the moment the argument is hypothetical, since the ship’s main armament has yet to function fully correctly.