Royal Navy

[Quiron]

Meet Britain's new sub-sea war machine

by Staff Writers
London (UPI) Dec 16, 2010

It can hit enemies more than 1,200 miles away, its nuclear reactor could power an entire city and it makes less noise than a baby dolphin -- meet HMS Ambush, Britain's new super submarine.
The British navy's largest-ever nuclear sub was officially named Thursday during a ceremony at a BAE Systems shipyard in the northwestern English seaport of Barrow-in-Furness.

The ceremony, attended by around 2,000 people, took place inside the dock as a technical glitch prevented the sub from being laid down to water, the local newspaper North West Evening Mail reports.

"Due to a last-minute technical issue involving some of the equipment required to move the submarine," the $1.9 billion HMS Ambush won't leave the dock Thursday, a BAE Systems spokesman told the newspaper.

Expected to enter service next year, the 291-foot long HMS Ambush is Britain's most modern submarine.

Using saltwater, it can produce oxygen and fresh water to keep its crew of 98 under water for months, if necessary.

Its advanced radar and sonar equipment allow the craft to spot enemy vessels at a distance of up to 3,000 nautical miles, meaning the submarine could comfortably screen the U.S. East Coast while diving in Scottish waters, the Daily Mail newspaper writes.

Armed with a mixture of Tomahawk long-range cruise missiles and Spearfish heavyweight torpedoes, the Ambush can pulverize targets at sea, on land and in the air. The nuclear-powered engine, which has a lifetime of 25 years, enables the submarine to propel through the water at more than 20 knots, meaning the vessel can travel 500 miles in one day.

The submarine was built by BAE Systems Submarine Solutions, which operates one of the few shipyards in the world capable of building nuclear submarines.

The company has been building the Astute class submarine, the first of which, the HMS Astute, was launched in 2007. The HMS Ambush is the second submarine of the Astute class, with five more being built over the next decade. While the $10 billion project is delayed and nearly $2.2 billion over budget, Britain in its latest defense review nevertheless decided to go ahead with the full complement of seven sub orders.

The HMS Astute dominated headlines when it ran aground on a sandbank off the Isle of Skye in October. Bad luck continued when a tug collided with the sub during the rescue and another technical failure at sea. The incident cost at least $12 million. The sub's commander has since been fired.

http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Meet_Br ... e_999.html

[cabeça de martelo]

[P44]

vá, comecem a contribuir

HMS Ark Royal for sale online
28 March 2011

HMS Ark Royal is being sold online via the MoD website which disposed of sister ship HMS invincible earlier this year.

Defence Equipment and Support's eDisposals site lists the former Royal Navy flagship for sale alongside Type 42 Destroyers HMS Exeter, HMS Southampton and HMS Nottingham.

HMS Invincible was sold to Turkish firm Leyal Ship Recycling in February following a similar advertisement, and has already been towed to Turkey to be dismantled.

Ark Royal was decommissioned earlier this month following 25 years in service.

Prior to the listing there were rumours that the aircraft carrier could be used to provide a base for emergency services and Special Forces during the 2012 Olympic Games.

Other options reportedly discussed include bids to turn the carrier into a conference centre, but any option must now be formalised and processed through the eDisposals website.

Bidding ends at 10am on 13 June, and the ship will be available for viewing by potential buyers in Portsmouth on 3 and 4 May, provided they let the MoD know their "intentions regarding the vessel" in advance.

http://www.defencemanagement.com/news_s ... p?id=15903

[soultrain]

Um morto e um ferido em tiroteio num submarino nuclear

por LusaHoje
O Astute é o mais recente submarino britânico a propulsão nuclear.

Uma pessoa foi morta e outra gravemente ferida durante um tiroteio a bordo de um submarino nuclear britânico fundeado em Southampton, sul de Inglaterra, informou a polícia, que excluiu a hipótese de um acto terrorista.

Um homem foi detido após o incidente, que não representou "qualquer risco para o público", e "não está relacionado com um acto terrorista", asseguraram responsáveis policiais citados pela agência France Presse. O ministro da Defesa britânico recusou-se a qualquer comentário e remeteu todas as informações para as autoridades policiais.

O Astute, o mais recente submarino britânico a propulsão nuclear, tinha já sido notícia em finais de Outubro, quando se afundou nas costas escocesas antes de conseguir reemergir após algumas horas de expectativa.

Este episódio implicou a substituição deste submarino, equipado com mísseis convencionais Spearfish e Tomahawk preparados para atingir alvos a uma distância de dois mil quilómetros.

[Booz]

Algum marinheiro pirou na batatinha inglesa.

[Glauber Prestes]

Vão proibir armas no submarino nuclear também?

[tflash]

http://sol.sapo.pt/inicio/Internacional ... t_id=17159

Reino Unido coloca online segredos acerca de submarinos nucleares
19 de Abril, 2011
Informação classificada sobre a frota de submarinos nucleares britânica ficou acessível na Internet por engano, erro que foi descoberto e revelado pelo DailyStar, um tablóide nacional.

De acordo com a edição online do DailyStar, o problema foi causado por um erro básico ocorrido quando se passou o documento para o website do Parlamento a pedido de um lobby do anti-nuclear.

Ao ser colocado online, partes do documento que deviam ter sido apagadas estavam disponíveis a qualquer um com conhecimentos básicos em informática e que puderam ler e copiar alguns segredos classificados da marinha britânica.

A informação disponível online continha a opinião de especialistas acerca da capacidade da frota para lidar com um acidente catastrófico, mas não só, incluía também dados classificados acerca das medidas utilizadas pela marinha norte-americana para proteger os seus submarinos nucleares.

SOL

Mas quem é que manda na marinha Britânica? O mister Bean?? São umas atrás das outras!!

[soultrain]

Ou seja, estava em negro com as letras negras, só para leitura, era fazer copy paste...

[pampa_01]

Será que logo eles, os ingleses, foram assim tão displicentes? E com dados sigilosos?

[soultrain]

Foram...E não foram só dados deles, também revelaram dados secretos de terceiros.

[FoxTroop]

Foram...E não foram só dados deles, também revelaram dados secretos de terceiros.

Os americanos devem estar para lá de fulos com isto

[cabeça de martelo]

Isso também já aconteceu nos "states".

[soultrain]

Acho piada é a reação lacónica e fora de tempo do MoD:

“The MoD is grateful to the journalist for bringing this matter to our attention. As soon as we were told about this, we took steps to ensure the document was removed from the public domain and replaced by a properly redacted version. We take nuclear security very seriously and we are doing everything possible to prevent a recurrence of this.”

[P44]

The Royal Family
Prince Charles 'saves Ark Royal’
The name HMS Ark Royal – one of the most historic in Navy history – will pass to a new aircraft carrier, after an intervention by the Prince of Wales.


By Thomas Harding, Defence Correspondent 7:30AM BST 02 May 2011

The Prince is understood to have privately agreed to allow HMS Prince of Wales, which is under construction, to be renamed Ark Royal, after the former flagship bearing the name was decommissioned.

A senior Navy officer is understood to have approached the Prince, who holds the rank of admiral in the Navy, who made clear that he had no objection to the name change.

A defence source said: “The Prince of Wales has been asked and he is pretty relaxed about it.”

A senior Navy officer said it was virtually unheard of to change the name of a ship that was already being built.

“But this does recognise that the name Ark Royal is iconic. The name conjures up the whole history of these islands and it would represent the future of the Navy and its past,” he said.

Clarence House said no formal approach had been made on the name change

A Ministry of Defence official said no decision had yet been made on naming the ship, which would be the sixth to be called Ark Royal.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/ ... Royal.html

[P44]

No Warships Protecting UK Shores


(Source: British Forces Broadcasting Service; posted Nov. 2, 2011)



Cutbacks have left the UK without a single warship specifically tasked with protecting the country's shores for the past month, the Ministry of Defence confirmed today.

The Royal Navy normally provides a minimum coverage of a frigate or destroyer fulfilling the role of Fleet Ready Escort (FRE). This task is for the ship to be at high readiness for an emergency, including a terrorist attack, in UK waters or abroad.

However pressures on the navy caused by cuts to its fleet in last year's strategic defence and strategy review (SDSR) as well as its commitments to the Nato mission to Libya, has left it unable to fill the role.

In the SDSR, the Government cut the number of frigates or destroyers in the navy's surface fleet from 24 to 19.

The last ship to undertake the FRE role was the Type 23 frigate HMS Portland which left the position on October 3 to take part in the NATO Joint Warrior exercise off Scotland.

A Royal Navy spokesman said: "Due to the successful deployment of Royal Navy units to the Libya campaign, it has been necessary to reprofile the commitments of some ships. Should a FRE activation be required, a Royal Navy ship would be allocated."

The spokesman explained that although there had not been a ship specifically tasked as an FRE, one of the vessels taking part in the Joint Warrior exercise could have been allocated within 24 hours' notice.

He added that the FRE would not necessarily be on patrol during its tasking but could be alongside in port at high readiness to sail.

The spokesman said that as well as the FRE, the navy normally has a frigate escorting the continuous at sea deterrent (nuclear submarine) as well as fishery protection vessels.

He added the next FRE would be formally notified on November 7 but if one was required prior to that they would be nominated immediately.

Former First Sea Lord, Admiral Lord Alan West told the Portsmouth News: "If there was a terrorism incident in UK waters, this would historically be the ship sent in to deal with it.

"It's a big problem. If we haven't got a ship ready to do this role then it's worrying. It's a very unsatisfactory position to be in."

-ends-

http://www.defense-aerospace.com/articl ... hores.html