The UK has been without a single warship allocated to defending its shores for a month because of defense cuts and operations in Libya, the Ministry of Defense has confirmed.
The full gamut of the Royal Navy's abilities was on show in the Solent last week, during a series of high-profile action-packed demonstrations. The Solent separates the Isle of Wight from mainland England and is the access to Southampton.
Royal Navy frigate HMS Montrose has set sail for a six-and-a-half month deployment to the Falkland Islands and other South Atlantic Islands to maintain a continuous presence protecting British interests.
Fresh from a £40m refit the Royal Navy helicopter carrier HMS Illustrious has begun two months of intensive training off the south coast of Britain. Once the training is completed, the Portsmouth-based warship will be the UK’s on-call helicopter carrier, ready for global missions.
Britain has a new flagship with assault ship HMS Bulwark taking over the mantle from her sister vessel. Just two days after HMS Albion made her final entry to Plymouth for three years, and three days after she herself completed her last major training exercise, Bulwark is ready to assume the lead role, reports the UK Defence ministry.
As part of the UK Armed Forces Redundancy Program, and following on from the Army and the RAF earlier this month, on Friday the Royal Navy begun notifying personnel selected for redundancy in Tranche 1 of the program.
HMS Edinburgh following a two-week maintenance stop in Cape Town, South Africa, is again crossing the South Atlantic to the Falkland Islands. This is the third crossing since the Type 42 destroyer left the UK.
The name of the Royal Navy's newest, most capable Astute Class submarine has been formally announced Friday, HMS Anson. She’s the fifth in her class, and is being named after Admiral of the Fleet George Anson (1697-1762) who is noted for his circumnavigation of the globe and his role overseeing the Royal Navy during the Seven Years' War.
The veteran HMS Edinburgh has completed the first half of her six-month Falkland Islands deployment in the South Atlantic and is now in South Africa for maintenance and the ship’s company for some rest and recovery.
Type-42 destroyer HMS York returned to cheering crowds of families and well-wishers at Portsmouth Naval Base last week following a varied and wide-ranging deployment to the Falklands in the South Atlantic and Libya.