Category Archives: Royal Navy

Starmer’s ‘corrosive complacency’ on defence has put UK in peril, says ex-Nato chief

Posted on by

George Robertson says Iran war should be wake-up call to address military underfunding in scathing remarks

The British government has shown a “corrosive complacency towards defence” and put the UK “in peril”, according to a government adviser, in fierce criticisms of Keir Starmer’s military policy.

The former Nato secretary general and author of the government’s strategic defence review, George Robertson, believes Starmer was “not willing to make the necessary investment”, the Financial Times has reported.

Continue reading...

UK navy foiled Russian submarines surveying undersea cables, defence minister says

Posted on by

John Healey says warship and aircraft forced Russia to abandon activity in North Sea in month-long operation

A British warship and aircraft tracked and monitored Russian submarines trying to survey vital undersea infrastructure in the North Atlantic, ensuring they fled the area, the defence secretary, John Healey, has said.

Speaking at a Downing Street press conference, Healey said the UK operation lasted more than a month and saw a Royal Navy warship and P8 marine patrol aircraft “track and deter any malign activity” by three Russian submarines.

Continue reading...

HMS Dragon docks in eastern Mediterranean after problems with water systems

Posted on by

Royal Navy type 45 destroyer deployed to reinforce security around RAF base in Cyprus to undergo short maintenance stop, says MoD

HMS Dragon has docked in the eastern Mediterranean after suffering technical problems with its water systems.

The UK’s prime minister, Keir Starmer, announced on 3 March that the type 45 destroyer would be deployed to reinforce security around RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, two days after the base was struck by a Shahed 136 drone.

Continue reading...

Archaeologists discover wreck of Danish warship sunk by Nelson 225 years ago

Posted on by

Divers in race against time to unearth wreck of the Dannebroge before seabed becomes construction site

More than 200 years after being sunk by Adm Horatio Nelson and the British fleet, a Danish warship has been discovered on the seabed of Copenhagen harbour by marine archaeologists.

Working in thick sediment and almost zero visibility 15 metres (49ft) beneath the waves, divers are in a race against time to unearth the 19th-century wreck of the Dannebroge before it becomes a construction site in a new housing district being built off the Danish coast.

Continue reading...

Trump describes UK aircraft carriers as ‘toys’ in latest anti-Nato jibe

Posted on by

US president says he is ‘very disappointed’ as he again lashes out at allies’ lack of involvement in Iran war

Donald Trump has dismissed British warships as “toys” in his latest jibe at Nato countries for their lack of involvement in the joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran. Speaking at the White House on Thursday, he claimed he had told the UK: “Don’t bother, we don’t need it.”

Trump has previously alleged that he requested two aircraft carriers from the UK that Keir Starmer had initially rejected and then offered to send. No 10 has denied that a request was made or denied.

Continue reading...

Is it time for the UK to acknowledge the ‘rhetoric to reality gap’ on its military power?

Posted on by

Forces have been stripped back since the cold war but political stasis is dangerous in the face of growing global threats

• Middle East crisis – live updates

It will have been more than three weeks since the US and Israel first attacked Iran when the first British warship finally arrives off the coast of Cyprus, a belated defensive deployment that has highlighted the lack of military capacity available to the UK.

Nominally, HMS Dragon was one of three destroyers available out of six. In reality the warship has had to be hauled out of dry dock, prepared and then, after launch, tested for several days in the Channel. Its arrival date is still unconfirmed.

Continue reading...

Royal Navy’s HMS Dragon sails for eastern Mediterranean

Posted on by

Destroyer leaves Portsmouth a week after deployment was announced following drone attack on RAF base in Cyprus

The Royal Navy destroyer HMS Dragon departed Portsmouth on Tuesday afternoon for the eastern Mediterranean after six days of hasty preparation and a week after its deployment was announced by the prime minister.

The warship is expected to take between five and seven days to arrive off the coast of Cyprus, where it will be able to defend against drone and missile attacks from Iran or its proxies in Lebanon or Iraq.

Continue reading...

UK preparing aircraft carrier for possible Middle East deployment

Posted on by

Royal Navy readying HMS Prince of Wales so it can be quickly deployed if decision made to mobilise it to region

The UK is preparing an aircraft carrier before a possible deployment to the Middle East, the Ministry of Defence has said.

Royal Navy workers in Portsmouth are readying HMS Prince of Wales, the navy’s flagship, meaning it could be deployed more quickly if a decision is made to mobilise it to the region.

Continue reading...

Former head of Royal Navy sacked over affair with subordinate officer

Posted on by

Ministry of Defence says Ben Key’s conduct fell far short of standards expected after investigation

The former head of the Royal Navy, Ben Key, has been fired and stripped of his commission after it was discovered that the married admiral had been having an affair with a female subordinate.

The Ministry of Defence said Key’s behaviour had been found to have fallen far short of the standards expected, after an investigation triggered when the woman’s husband made a complaint.

Continue reading...

General accused of locking away SAS war crimes evidence is made navy chief

Posted on by

Royal Navy leader also accused of overseeing denial of resettlement claims made by Afghans who aided UK forces

A general accused of failing to report evidence of war crimes committed by the SAS in Afghanistan has been appointed as the new head of the Royal Navy.

Gen Sir Gwyn Jenkins – the first Royal Marine to become First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff – replaces Adm Sir Ben Key, who was removed from it last week while under investigation over allegations of misconduct.

Continue reading...

Royal Navy commander removed from job over sexual allegations

Posted on by

Lt Cdr Martyn Mayger, who took charge of HMS Tyne in February, under investigation over sexual allegations

A Royal Navy commander has been removed from his role less than three months into post while he is investigated over sexual allegations.

Lt Cdr Martyn Mayger took charge of HMS Tyne, a warship that operates in UK and European waters on security tasks, in February.

Continue reading...

Starmer unlikely to unveil plan for rise in defence spending this week, says minister

Posted on by

Bridget Phillipson calls 2.5% target ‘ambitious’ days before PM meets with Donald Trump in Washington

Keir Starmer is unlikely to set out a plan this week for when the UK will increase its defence spending to 2.5% of GDP, a cabinet minister has indicated.

The education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, said the target was ambitious, despite Labour previously claiming it would set out a path to meeting the spending goal after the strategic defence review in the spring.

Continue reading...

No 10 accused of trying not to upset French by renaming HMS Agincourt

Posted on by

Decision to change name of new submarine to HMS Achilles is ‘craven political correctness’, says ex-navy officer

Downing Street has defended the government’s decision to change the name of a new attack submarine from HMS Agincourt to HMS Achilles, after critics accused ministers of trying not to upset the French.

A No 10 spokesperson called the decision to change the planned name of the vessel “appropriate and fitting”, despite criticism that ministers were being “craven”. Officials say the name Achilles had been chosen in part to pay tribute to an earlier ship of the same name.

Continue reading...

Britain’s response to Russian ‘spy ship’ is game of political messaging – for now

Posted on by

Deteriorating security environment and incidents in Baltic have forced military reassessment in northern Europe

Submarines normally operate in secret, lurking in the deep. So when the British defence secretary, John Healey, authorised a Royal Navy Astute-class attack sub to surface close to the Russian “spy ship” Yantar south of Cornwall in November, it was unusual enough.

What was even more notable, however, was that the minister went on to tell the House of Commons on Wednesday what he had done. It was, Healey said, conducted “strictly as a deterrent measure”, as was his decision to accuse the Kremlin of spying on the location of undersea communication and utility cables that connect Britain to the world.

Continue reading...

Robots, drones and uncrewed vessels ‘likely to be default’ in future Royal Navy

Posted on by

UK defence chiefs see no need to recruit extra sailors as maritime force will become hybrid with uncrewed systems

The Royal Navy of the future will be dominated by robots, drones and uncrewed vessels, leading chiefs to conclude there is no need to try to recruit extra sailors as part of the forthcoming defence review.

Adm Sir Ben Key, the first sea lord, believes the navy has to focus on recruitment and retention rather than seeking more personnel numbers because crew sizes are inevitably falling as military technology evolves.

Continue reading...

Boost UK defence spending to win Trump’s support, former navy chief urges Starmer

Posted on by

Lord West says Republican victory is chance to show Britain is willing to prioritise military by allocating 3% of GDP

Keir Starmer is being urged to consider an emergency cash injection into defence and to accelerate Britain’s planned review of its military capabilities before Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

Senior defence figures are now assessing how Trump’s victory will shape a strategic defence review (SDR) that was already under way in Whitehall, whose findings are due to be reported in the spring. The SDR comes alongside a crucial review of public spending.

Continue reading...

Nuclear submarine shipyard fire at Barrow-in-Furness leaves two in hospital

Posted on by

Residents told to stay indoors with doors and windows closed as emergency services say there is no nuclear risk from ongoing fire at BAE Systems complex

Two people have been taken to hospital after a fire broke out at BAE Systems’ Barrow-in-Furness shipyard in Cumbria, police said.

Cumbria constabulary said the fire at the nuclear submarine shipyard broke out at about 12.45am and was ongoing.

Continue reading...

UK to increase military presence in Indo-Pacific to counter China

Posted on by

Keir Starmer to announce expansion in region that will also include business club to increase economic ties

The UK will increase its military and economic presence in the Indo-Pacific to support regional stability, Keir Starmer will announce on Saturday.

In an effort to counter China’s influence, ministers will expand the Royal Navy’s presence in the region and carry out more joint patrols with Pacific island nations.

Continue reading...

Trump took ‘British naval secrets’ to Mar-a-Lago, says Christopher Steele

Posted on by

Former UK spy says in new book Trump ‘apparently unauthorizedly’ took secrets with him

Donald Trump took “British naval secrets” to Mar-a-Lago after he left the White House, the former UK spy Christopher Steele says in a new book.

“I was reliably informed by impeccable sources that among the classified documents which Trump, apparently unauthorizedly, took with him to Mar-a-Lago at the end of his presidency were British naval secrets, some of the most sensitive ones in our governmental system,” Steele writes.

Continue reading...