Ten British ships sunk during the Second World War and designated as war graves have been plundered for scrap metal by Chinese pirates, an investigation by The Mail on Sunday has found. They include HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Exeter which was involved in the River Plate battle against the Graf Spee, closely operating from the Falkland Islands.
British defense giant BAE Systems has won a multi-million pound contract from the Australian government to build nine new warships, marking a significant victory for British military exports. BAE beat Italian and Spanish rivals to win a large slice of the £20bn spending program.
The former head of the Royal Navy has warned of a developing negative situation over the number of ships available to patrol Britain’s coastal waters post-Brexit. Labour’s Lord West of Spithead told the Lords at question time there were not enough vessels to look after the inshore waters and the exclusive economic zone.
The United Kingdom Ice Patrol HMS Protector is expected this week in Buenos Aires on her return trip from the Antarctica season. The visit is seen as evidence of the renewed and improved UK/Argentina bilateral relations, both politically and in defense issues.
HMS Ocean pulled into Portsmouth for the last time as a Royal Navy ship as it is now due to be delivered to Brazil, which has bought the RN sole helicopter carrier. The Royal Navy's flagship has served for 20 years and has traveled all around the world. She was sold to Brazil for 84 million pounds (US$117 million) as new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth prepares to take over as leader of the fleet
The first of the Royal Navy's next-generation patrol ships set sail from Glasgow on Wednesday for her home port of Portsmouth. HMS Forth is the first of a class of five state-of-the-art Royal Navy vessels, designed for counter-piracy, anti-smuggling, fishery protection, border patrol, counter terrorism and other maritime defense duties.
The Royal Navy’s new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth arrived in Gibraltar for her first overseas port visit. As she sailed into port under close security escort, UK Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson highlighted the Rock’s strategic role for UK military operations.
A state of the art jetty which will improve military capability in the Falkland Islands and improve life for personnel on the Islands has been completed by Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO). Work to upgrade the jetty in Mare Harbour was officially opened recently by Geoff Robson, DIO’s Chief Operating Officer.
British Defense Minister Guto Bebb formally announced on Thursday the acceptance of HMS Forth, the Royal Navy’s new Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV), from manufacturer BAE Systems at the company’s Scotstoun shipyard.
Britain has no major warships deployed on operations beyond home waters in what has been described as an “unprecedented” absence of the vessels on the world stage. All six of the Royal Navy’s Type 45 destroyers are docked in Portsmouth, while 12 of 13 Type 23 frigates are either at Portsmouth or Devonport.