Navy Lookout – A submarine returned home to the Clyde today following the longest ever patrol by a British nuclear deterrent-carrying boat. This submarine left Faslane in late August and has been away for 204 days. This breaks the record achieved in 2023, an extraordinarily long time for the crew to spend underwater. This submarine was relieved in the last few days by another boat that sailed last week, following significant delays in getting it ready for sea. The length of patrols has been rising sharply over the last few years. The last eight deterrent patrols have all exceeded five months in duration. Today’s homecoming is another epic achievement, even if spending almost half a year underwater is becoming ‘normal’.

Navy Lookout – Royal Navy Type 23 frigate, HMS Lancaster has intercepted a shipment of class A drugs worth approximately £5.4M during an operation in the northern Arabian Sea. Initial detection of suspicious activity was made by the newly acquired Peregrine Rotary Wing Uncrewed Air System (RWUAS) remotely controlled from the ship’s operations room.

Navy Lookout – Work to replace the ships that carry British military equipment around the globe is at an early stage. Here we look at the background and requirements of the Strategic Sealift – Future (SSL-F) programme.

Navy Lookout – Reports in the French media say that an additional 220 Aster 30 missiles have been ordered under a tri-national procurement. Aster 30 is the RN’s primary air defence missile, the effector used in the Sea Viper system that equips the six Type 45 destroyers.

The Guardian – Britain’s ability to rely on the US to maintain the UK’s nuclear arsenal is now in doubt, experts have warned, but working with European states to replace it will be costly and take time.

Navy Lookout – HMS Somerset, together with her Merlin helicopter and an RAF P-8A Poseidon aircraft, monitored a Russian corvette and cargo ship passing eastward through the English Channel in the past few days.

Navy Lookout – In February, the Royal Navy received its first serial production Maritime Mine Counter Measures (MMCM) system—an advanced suite of technologies designed to locate, classify and neutralise naval mines, operated either autonomously or via remote control.

Navy Lookout – CETUS, first Extra Large Underwater Autonomous Vehicle (XLUAV) technology demonstrator to be owned by the RN was launched in Plymouth this week.

Navy Lookout – In this guest article, Mark Scott argues that significantly growing the RN is not an insurmountable challenge. The rationale for a stronger force is not the main focus of the piece, instead, the emphasis remains on the methodology required to achieve such an expansion.

Navy Lookout – The Peregrine Rotary Wing Uncrewed Air System (RWUAS) has been deployed from HMS Lancaster for the first time during live operations in the Middle East.

Navy Lookout – In this article, we refute some of the arguments frequently presented by those campaigning for the UK to abandon its nuclear deterrent.

Naval News – The UK Royal Navy (RN) has outlined plans to exploit developments in remotely-operated and uncrewed/autonomous systems to deliver a deployable and persistent wide area anti-submarine warfare (ASW) search capability in the North Atlantic.

The Wavell Room – Should we invest more in information operations?

The Wavell Room – Evaluate the challenges the Royal Navy face if it were to engage in a non-NATO supported conflict in the Southern Hemisphere.

Navy Lookout – Another Royal Fleet Auxiliary tanker has joined Royal Navy vessels monitoring Russian warships and merchant ships transiting close to the UK…While they are quite capable of this work, the use of RFA vessels for this task is becoming increasingly common due to the lack of Royal Navy surface fleet assets.

The Wavell Room – Evaluate the challenges the Royal Navy face if it were to engage in a non-NATO supported conflict in the Southern Hemisphere.

BFBS – Some of the smallest warships in the Royal Navy’s fleet are heading into Arctic waters to support Nato’s annual cold-weather exercise, Joint Viking 2025.

(Thanks to Alain)

Navy Lookout – On 20th November 2024, the Defence Secretary announced that HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark would be decommissioned. Here we look at the context, justifications and potential consequences of this decision.

Navy Lookout – In this article, we consider in more detail the implications following the revelation that an RN submarine deliberately surfaced close to the Russian spy ship Yantar in November 2024.

Navy Lookout – Speaking in Parliament today the Defence Secretary told Parliament in November he had authorised an RN submarine monitoring Russian spy ship Yantar to surface in close proximity.

Navy Lookout – In this guest article, Stuart Dee and Charlotte Kleberg summarise the challenges ahead for Royal Navy aviation.

Navy Lookout – RFA members of the RMT Union have voted to end the long-running dispute over pay after finally being awarded a significant increase that reflects the decline in salaries over many years.

Navy Lookout – Leonardo UK has revealed more about the Proteus technology demonstrator aircraft, developed for the Royal Navy which will undergo flight testing in mid-2025.

Navy Lookout – In this primer, we look at the plan to acquire floating dry docks for Royal Navy nuclear submarine maintenance at Faslane.

USNI News – The United Kingdom is leading a Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) and NATO effort to track Russian “Shadow Fleet” vessels in Northern European waters, in real time, to protect critical undersea infrastructure, the United Kingdom’s defense minister announced Monday.