USNI News – Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales (R09) is conducting operations across the High North as HMS Queen Elizabeth (RO8) trains in the Mediterranean.

Navy Lookout – RFA Tideforce has completed six weeks of intensive operations in the North Atlantic and Arctic, supplying Royal Navy and allied warships, carrying out anti-submarine operations and monitoring Russian naval activity. T

Navy Lookout – European Admirals are quietly meeting to discuss how to defend the North Atlantic as the RN is increasingly absent and at an unprecedented low point. This is another indication that allies are increasingly judging Britain by the forces it can actually put to sea rather than its ambitions for the future.

Navy Lookout – Babcock has confirmed they expect to deliver HMS Venturer to the RN in 2028, around two years later than the handover anticipated when she was launched. The date provides some clarity on the delayed Type 31 programme, but delivery is a very different milestone from being ready for operations.

Navy Lookout – Three of the Royal Navy’s four Vanguard-class ballistic missile submarines are currently at sea, an unusual concentration of boats that has prompted speculation about a change in Britain’s nuclear posture. The available evidence instead points towards routine operational activity and, more positively, improving submarine availability after several years in which maintaining the deterrent has placed exceptional demands on boats and crews.

Navy Lookout – The MoD is close to placing a contract for a large uncrewed surface vessel (LUSV) that will be in the water next year as an early test of the RN’s Hybrid Navy concept. The demonstrator is the first hardware step towards replacing the Type 45 destroyers, which senior officers say they have no wish to keep beyond their planned retirement from 2035.

Navy Lookout – The House of Commons Defence Committee has published its report on Defence in the High North. It concludes that RN strength falls far short of the government’s declared targets, particularly in frigates and attack submarines. The fleet available in 2030 may even be smaller than the report projects, and the Hybrid Navy concept will not be sufficiently developed in time to offset this collapse.

Navy Lookout – Norway has revealed plans to build up to six new vessels for the UK, potentially going beyond the three minehunting motherships currently announced for the RN. This raises questions about whether the additional ships could support other elements of the emerging Hybrid Navy, including Atlantic Bastion and seabed surveillance operations.

The Guardian – Britain risks failing to deter future Russian aggression in the high north beyond the UK because of shortfalls in the number and availability of Royal Navy submarines and warships, MPs on the defence select committee have said.

Navy Lookout – In this guest article, Rear Admiral Peter Briggs, RAN (Rtd), argues that the UK, US and Australia should combine their efforts to build nuclear-capable floating dry docks. A common design with the basic steelwork done in South Korea and the high-value nuclear outfitting done domestically could deliver docks to all three navies years earlier than separate national programmes.

Naval News – Four RN Merlin Mk2 helicopters have spent a fortnight flying from HMS Gannet at Prestwick during Operation Iceblast, a short-notice test of how well the submarine hunters can operate away from Cornwall. The detachment also tracked HMS Agamemnon on her first dive trials and supported Exercise Strike Warrior in Scotland.

Navy Lookout – During August, HMS Dauntless was fitted with new equipment on her upper deck, likely counter-drone interceptors. This has not been officially confirmed as the RN will not comment on the matter. The fit closely matches an urgent requirement put to industry in March and comes as the destroyer prepares to escort HMS Prince of Wales to the High North.

Navy Lookout – HMS Protector, the Royal Navy’s only ice patrol ship, was towed into Devonport by tugs today for, what officials say is to allow “investigations into a defect to take place”. She remains part of the fleet for now, but it is likely she is beyond economical repair.

Navy Lookout – Dragon’s ship’s company responded to an emergency at a week’s notice, spent seven months operating close to an active war zone and brought the ship home after doing everything asked of them. The deployment was a success for the people involved, but it also demonstrated that the RN is really now too small to be able to exert sustained strategic effect or contribute significantly to allied operations, especially beyond Europe.

Navy Lookout – The Ministry of Defence is now refusing of offer any in-service date for the RN’s Type 31 frigates. In its latest statement on the programme is says that costs are rising and makes a further retreat from the firm dates that once defined the project.

Council on Geostrategy – The Joint Expeditionary Force provides the UK with essential tactical mass and geographical access to the Wider North, although its members remain reliant upon high-end British sovereign capabilities. By transforming the grouping into a fully fledged regional vanguard for defence, Britain can ensure that adversaries are deterred and allies are reassured as the Wider North becomes ever more significant in an era of growing geopolitical competition.

Navy Lookout – The Point-class ro-ro MV Eddystone has completed an eight-week refit in Denmark, the first of four planned for the ships that carry the UK’s heavy military equipment worldwide. The work is intended to keep the class running to 2031 while the Defence Investment Plan (DIP) lays the ground for a larger successor fleet.

Navy Lookout – The Chancellor will announce today that, subject to a commercial competition, the floating dry docks required for RN nuclear submarine maintenance at Faslane will be built in the UK. The decision backs domestic industry, although British yards have not built a floating dock in 60 years.

Navy Lookout – The Royal Navy has confirmed that RFA Fort Victoria will have a refit at Birkenhead that is intended to return the veteran support ship to service next year. After almost five years without conducting a replenishment at sea, the ship will be used to rebuild solid stores handling and RAS skills ahead of the arrival of the new Fleet Solid Support ships.

Navy Lookout – The RN’s latest SSN, HMS Agamemnon, has sailed from BAE Systems’ Barrow-in-Furness shipyard for the first time and is heading for her new home at HM Naval Base Clyde. The departure marks the first in a series of sea trials and training evolutions before she can join the operational fleet.

Navy Lookout – Common Anti-Air Modular Missile (CAMM) has become one of Britain’s most successful modern missile exports, growing from a weapon first introduced into Royal Navy service as Sea Ceptor into an increasingly important international air defence family. Now adopted by several European and overseas navies, the system is also at the centre of a major industrial partnership with Poland, where production is being established on a scale that could eventually rival the UK operation.

UK Defence Journal – The Ministry of Defence is continuing work with the Defence Maritime Regulator to define how uncrewed surface vessels should be regulated and classified as the Royal Navy expands its use of maritime autonomous systems.

(Thanks to Alain)

Navy Lookout – The test firing took place last week and, according to the UK government announcement, the weapon, developed jointly by the United States and Australia, was launched from XV Excalibur. The event is the first UK-US torpedo firing from an uncrewed undersea vessel.

Navy Lookout – HMS Spey and HMS Tamar have completed five years continuously deployed to the Indo-Pacific, establishing the RN’s first persistent presence in the region since the handover of Hong Kong in 1997. Between them, the two Batch II OPVs have now travelled almost 593,000km (320,000nm), undertaking a mixture of maritime security, defence engagement and diplomatic tasks.

USNI News – The head of the Royal Navy called for Britain to expand its maritime capabilities and strengthen the U.K.-led Joint Expeditionary Force coalition in preparation for a potential conflict with Russia in the North Atlantic during a speech last week.