Future of the Royal Navy

Naval Service of the British Armed Forces
Components
Royal Navy Surface fleet Fleet Air Arm Submarine Service Royal Naval Reserve Nursing Service (QARNNS) Royal Fleet Auxiliary Royal Marines Royal Marines Reserve Special Boat Service
History and future
History of the Royal Navy History of the Royal Marines Customs and traditions Future of the Royal Navy
Ships
Current fleet Current deployments Historic ships
Personnel
The Admiralty Senior officers Uniforms Officer rank insignia Ratings rank insignia
Related civilian agencies of the Ministry of Defence
Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service (now privatised)

At the beginning of the 1990s, the Royal Navy was a force designed for the Cold War - with its three small aircraft carriers and a force of anti-submarine frigates and destroyers, its main purpose was to search for - and in the event of an actual declaration of war, to destroy - Soviet submarines in the North Atlantic. The 1982 Falklands War proved a need for the Royal Navy to maintain an expeditionary capability.

However, since the end of the Cold war in the early 1990s, the Royal Navy has been forced to make an ever increasing number of commitments, while suffering a gradual reduction in the size of its surface fleet. Recent cuts have seen the retirement of the Sea Harrier with the Royal Navy sharing the Royal Air Force's Harrier GR7/GR9, until 2010, when the Harrier GR7/GR9 was retired. Until delivery of the Joint Combat Aircraft (F-35) and the Queen Elizabeth-class carriers Britain will have no fixed-wing carrier strike capability. Cuts have also seen the early paying-off of three Type 23 frigates.

Over the course of the 1990s and the 2000s, the navy has begun a series of projects to improve its fleet, with a view to providing enhanced capabilities, although many of these have been cut or cancelled. This has led to the replacement of smaller and more numerous units with fewer, but larger, units. The main examples of this are the replacement of Type 42 destroyers with half as many Type 45s and the confirmed replacement of the three 20,000 tonne Invincible-class aircraft carriers with two 65,000 tonne Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers.

There are currently 7 ships and submarines under construction: four Astute-class submarines (boats 3-6), the final Type 45 destroyer (ship 6), and the two Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers, which began construction in July 2009 and May 2011. Preparatory and design work has begun on the Type 26 frigate programme, which will replace the existing frigate fleet from 2020, as well as a (now separate) scheme to replace a large number of the Royal Navy's minor vessels.

Major fleet units

Aircraft carriers

Main article: Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carrier

Impression of CATOBAR ship from port, displaying the three aircraft arrestor wires, F-35Cs and a Merlin helicopter on deck

A major source of naval power projection is the aircraft carrier. The one remaining ship of the Invincible class has limited capabilities, due not only to her small size, but also to the retirement in 2010 of the main type of aircraft on board - the Harrier GR7/GR9. In the 1998 Strategic Defence Review the Ministry of Defence announced that it would replace the Invincible class with a pair of much larger vessels of the Queen Elizabeth class, in a project that was originally designated as "CVF" (Carrier Vessel Future). These two ships, Queen Elizabeth and Prince of Wales, were ordered in 2007 and will each displace approximately 65,000 tonnes and be some 280 metres long, making them the largest vessels ever operated by the Royal Navy. They are expected to be commissioned in 2016 and 2018.

The 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review reaffirmed the governments commitment to purchasing both vessels, however only one carrier is certain to be commissioned; the fate of the other is as of yet undecided. It was also announced that the carrier/s will have catapult and arrestor gear (CATOBAR) installed to accommodate the carrier variant of the Joint Strike Fighter, rather than the short-take off and vertical-landing version previously planned.

Frigates

Main articles: Type 26 frigate and Type 23 frigate

Type 26 frigate

The October 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review outlined a total frigate force of 13 Type 23 frigates and the decommissioning of the 4 remaining Type 22 frigates. The SDSR further plans to replace the 13 Type 23 frigates with the new Type 26 Global Combat Ship. The first Type 26 is expected to enter service in 2020 and will start replacing the Type 23s.

The majority of the navy's escorts are thirteen the Type 23s. Eight of the Type 23s are to be refitted and equipped with the highly capable Type 2087 towed-array sonar. Sonar 2087 is described by its manufacturer as "a towed-array system that enables Type 23 frigates to hunt the latest submarines at considerable distances and locate them beyond the range at which they [submarines] can launch an attack. Royal Navy Commander John Payne, Commanding Officer of HMS Sutherland (a Type 23 frigate equipped with Sonar 2087) described the capability of the anti-submarine Sonar 2087 as "world-beating". This was during exercise Auriga in 2010.

Further upgrades to the Type 23 frigates include the Common Anti-Air Modular Missile (air-defence missile), it will replace the current Sea Wolf missile system starting in 2016. Like Sea Wolf, CAMM will be VLS launched and will offer a longer range of 1-25 kms compared to the range of 1-13 kms offered by the current Sea Wolf.

The Type 23's medium range radar will be replaced by BAE Systems Insyte Artisan 3D radar with the first vessel, HMS Iron Duke receiving its new radar in 2012-2013.The Artisan 3D radar will greatly improve the air-defence, anti-surface (anti-ship) and air traffic management capabilities of the Type 23 frigates.

Currently BAE Systems at the request of the MoD, is under a 4 year contract to design the Type 26 Global Combat Ship (Type 26 frigate) (formerly known as the Future Surface Combatant) .

Mine Countermeasures, Hydro-graphic and Patrol Capability programme

On 12 March 2010 the government confirmed a Mine Countermeasures, Hydro-graphic and Patrol Capability programme that had previously been referred to as the C3 variant of the Future Surface Combatant. The C3 variant was envisioned as a class of 8 ships, each with a displacement of about 3,000 tonnes. They were to be able to fulfil a wide range of roles including primarily Mine Countermeasures, Hydro-graphic survey and offshore patrol duties. This meant it would replace four smaller ship classes in the Royal Navy with just one new and larger class. The C3 vessel due to its size and capabilities would have been able to complement the Royal Navy's destroyers and frigates in constabulary tasks. The tasks involve anti-drug trafficking, anti-piracy and patrol duties in the Atlantic, Caribbean, Mediterranean and anywhere East of Suez.

The October 2010 SDSR revealed that the existing Hunt and Sandown class mine countermeasures ships will be replaced. The replacement programme will also have the flexibility to be used for other roles such as hydrography or offshore patrol. Post SDSR it is unclear what specifications and type of ship the Mine Countermeasures, Hydro-graphic and Patrol Capability programme will deliver, and whether in fact the programme is still active under that name. However in June 2011 BAE Systems and SeeByte Ltd of Edinburgh, Scotland signed a "Co-operation Agreement to pursue business opportunities associated with the UK’s Mine Counter Measure (MCM), Hydrography and Patrol Capability (MHPC) Programme." Previous to that in May 2011 the MoD seemed to have confirmed the program's existence.

It was speculated in December 2010 (post SDSR) that "Current plans seem to point to a single class of vessel about 100m in length and between 2,000 and 2,500 tonnes displacement. These will deliver on the MCM, survey and patrol requirements using a range of off board systems like USV’s, UAV’s and UUV’s." It also speculated that it will seek "to replace the Hunt, Sandown, Echo and River classes" currently in service, just as envisioned with the C3 vessel.

Submarines

Main article: Astute class submarine

HMS Astute

The modernisation of the Royal Navy's submarine force centres on the Astute-class SSNs and the Swiftsure & Trafalgar Update Final Phase (S&TUFP). In 1997, an order was placed for three units of the Astute class, which was designed as the SSN replacement for the Swiftsure class, with an option for a further two. The fourth boat was ordered in 2007, with boats number 5 and 6 being authorised in April 2010. Eight boats were the official target until 2008; now the MOD officially plans to acquire seven Astute-class submarines: it remains to be seen if this target will be maintained and reached despite the high demands on defence spending. The Defence Industrial Strategy states that a 24 month build drumbeat is needed to maintain the long-term viability of the nuclear submarine building business in the UK.

In the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review, the UK Government reaffirmed its intention to procure 7 Astute'- class submarines.

Fleet Air Arm

F-35 Lightning II

The aircraft carrier's major instrument of power projection is the carrier air group. The larger the air group, the more tasks it can perform. The Invincible class, because of its small size, has only a limited capacity, and is only capable of operating STOVL aircraft, the Harrier GR7/GR9. In 2006 the Sea Harrier was withdrawn from service. This saw the front line Sea Harrier squadron of the Fleet Air Arm converting to the Harrier GR9, as part of the evolution of the Joint Force Harrier concept. The Harrier's eventual replacement in both the RAF and the FAA is the F-35 Lightning II Joint Combat Aircraft. The F-35 will be a significant improvement over the Harrier, in terms of speed, range and weapon load. The UK had plans to order 138 F-35Bs for the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. The financial crisis led to the decision taken in the Strategic Defence and Security Review to immediately withdraw the Harrier GR9 force in late 2010 along with HMS Ark Royal, to reduce the total number of F-35s planned for purchase by the UK, and to purchase the F-35C CATOBAR version rather than the STOVL F-35B. This will tie in with the decision to build HMS Queen Elizabeth in a CATOBAR configuration. However, it will also mean that the Fleet Air Arm will not operate fixed wing aircraft at sea for up to ten years.

EH-101 Merlin

The 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review states that the Royal Navy will operate two types of helicopter in the future - the AW101 Merlin and the AW159 Lynx Wildcat. The anti-surface/anti-submarine mission remains the purview of rotary aircraft; in small ships this is the updated Mk8 version of the Lynx. The Future Lynx program has seen 28 of the new helicopters, baptized the AW159 Lynx Wildcat, ordered for the Royal Navy. However, in the carriers and in later frigates, the larger and more capable Merlin anti-submarine warfare helicopter is used. There are 44 Merlin helicopters in service, and an upgrade plan intended to increase their flexibility of use until 2029 is planned. The Sea King HC4 remains in the commando assault mission from HMS Ocean. In late 2009 it was announced that the Fleet Air Arm would lose its remaining Sea King HC4 helicopters, their place being taken by Merlins upgraded and transferred from the Royal Air Force (RAF).

A possible replacement for Sea King ASaC7 in the Airborne Early Warning role, are the spare FAA Merlins that wont be upgraded to HM2 standard, the spare Merlins could be upgraded to carry the same equipment and Cerberus radar suite as the the Sea King ASaC7. However, the limitations of using a helicopter in this role are well documented - endurance is limited, service ceiling is low and vibrations from the rotors may cause distortion. Therefore, two other concepts have also been put forward: a MASC version of the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft and the acquisition of the American E-2 Hawkeye embarked AEW aircraft. The V-22 was seen an attractive option for the original STOVL configuration of CVF. It combined the VTOL aspects of a helicopter with the endurance of a fixed wing aircraft. The E-2 is already in service with the French and US Navies. It has advantages over the V-22 again in terms of endurance and ceiling; because its cabin is pressurised, it can operate at greater altitude than the Merlin, extending the range of its radar.

See also

• Global Combat Ship
• Future of the Royal Air Force
• British replacement of the Trident system
• European Union defence procurement
• Type 26 frigates
• Future British Army Structure (Next Steps)

External links

• Official website
• Royal Navy Future Ships
• Navy Matters