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Jura The idiot

Jura The idiot

General
if interested, make whatever conclusion you will out of
The Type 26 Frigate fleet will be armed with missiles, they just haven’t ordered them yet
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EDIT
and me? I speculated as early as Nov 17, 2016
Jura said:
Friday at 7:51 AM
... probably because of no (the number is zero, '0') Mk 41 VLS:

CxcvAfAXAAAEHuj.jpg

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(reportedly this is the most recent official graphics ... it would've boasted Mk41 if the plan had been to install any, I guess ...
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FORBIN

FORBIN

Lieutenant General
Registered Member
HMS Queen Elizabeth likely to arrive in Portsmouth by autumn

Currently in the final stages of completion, HMS Queen Elizabeth is due to go to sea for 11 weeks of trials in summer before arriving in Portsmouth around autumn if all goes to plan.

She’ll return to the Forth once the sea trials are done for a final period of fitting out and testing.

Ian Booth, managing director of the Aircraft Carrier Alliance said:

“Pretty much everything is now installed in the ship and working. We’ve had lots of prior factory testing before putting systems on board and so far, it’s all looking pretty good.

Over the next few months we will finish compartment handovers, and complete work to coat the flight deck. We will also conduct harbour events and acceptance trials for virtually all systems – propulsion, steering, navigation, or communications – here [at Rosyth] before we go.”

According to Bob Hawkins MBE, First Lieutenant of the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth the plan was for the carrier to sail in March, he was quoted here (in mid 2016):

“The build process continues up here in Rosyth. Some of you may have experienced this from the RN side of the house, perhaps in a new class of ship, in a new build. The frustrations are many and varied. Add to this the sheer scale and complexity of the Queen Elizabeth Class (QEC) aircraft carriers and you can imagine that each day brings a new challenge in moving towards Ships Staff Move On Board (SSMOB) then its sequel, Ready For Sea Date (RFSD).

SSMOB is planned for 9 January; RFSD 10 March. Using Andrew St George’s 12 principles of Leadership in the Royal Navy, I subscribe to his No.2, Cheerfulness. A glass half empty as opposed to a glass half full approach is a choice, and I choose to remain optimistic. Draw from that what you will.

Timing of First Entry Portsmouth (FEP) is dependent upon achieving RFSD and the subsequent success of Power and Propulsion Trials. This initial Contractor Sea Trials period we call euphemistically ‘5-1-5’, i.e. from RFSD, five weeks at sea, one week alongside (Invergordon), five weeks at sea, then FEP: a standard package that must be executed in full from whichever start date we achieve.

Clearly, FEP will shift right if RFSD does, or indeed if ‘5-1-5’ needs to be extended to accommodate any set-backs thrown up during the trials.”



Merlin helicopters will be the first aircraft to begin flying from HMS Queen Elizabeth followed by Apache, Wildcat, Chinook and F-35. Merlins will start simple flight activities in March 2017 and then first-class flight trials begin in early 2018.

Recently, the news that HMS Queen Elizabeth will now sail for sea trials in Summer instead of Spring entered public perception. In such complex engineering projects, this type of occurrence isn’t a cause for concern nor is it unusual. HMS Queen Elizabeth, after all, is essentially a prototype and the Ministry of Defence can’t afford to get it wrong.

The news of the slip started to pick up traction when Former shadow Defence Minister Kevan Jones MP enquired in Parliament about sea trials being moved back from Spring to Summer:

“In the 2015 SDSR and again in December of last year, in the first annual report of the SDSR, the government were very clear that the sea trials for HMS Queen Elizabeth would begin in spring of this year.

In response to a parliamentary question last week, she informed me that they would no longer take place, but would take place in summer of this year. What are the reasons for this, and what is going to be the operational service date for Queen Elizabeth?”

Parliamentary Under Secretary at the Ministry of Defence Harriet Baldwin said:

“I would just like to confirm to him that she will commence her sea trials this Summer, and she will enter into the same programme so that she can sail into Portsmouth later this year.”

Defence secretary Michael Fallon said:

“It has always been our intention that Queen Elizabeth should be accepted into the Royal Navy before the end of this year. We are not giving specific dates as to when the sea trials are likely to commence.

The Queen Elizabeth will set out on those sea trials when she is ready to do so.”

Defence Procurement Minister Harriett Baldwin faced the Commons Defence Committee today, she was asked Madeleine Moon what was behind the delay and responded by saying:

“The carrier is due in Portsmouth this year but what I can’t give the committee is the specific days of the week.

By the very definition of what you’re going through when you’re going through trials is that you’re potentially in that trial process have to make some corrections to something, that’s the whole point of a trial.”

The minister added that the crew was ready.

Lt Gen. Mark Poffley, Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff for Military Capability, said:

“There have been a series of technical issues associated with bringing the vessel to the point where she can commence her sea trials.”

It is understood that this minor delay is ‘not outside the tolerance’ of the programme.

There has been a small slip in the timing of the vessel leaving Rosyth for trials, this really isn’t something to worry about as the vessel remains on track to enter service with the Royal Navy on time.

The Queen Elizabeth class mark a change from expressing carrier power in terms of number of aircraft carried, to the number of sortie’s that can be generated from the deck. The class are not the largest class of carrier in the world but they are most likely the smallest and least expensive carrier the Royal Navy could build which still have the advantages that large carriers offer.

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FORBIN

FORBIN

Lieutenant General
Registered Member
Better news

HMS Trenchant and HMS Triumph ready for deployment, dismissing claims they will never sail again

HMS Triumph has sailed from Devonport and HMS Trenchant is readying to deploy, silencing claims that a “cracked reactor has led to more than half of the frontline attack submarines being taken out of service”.

This comes as earlier reports in the Express claimed that a fault was present in the Trafalgar class submarines, meaning they may never sail again:

Experts warned the fault in the reactor of HMS Trenchant was so serious that the Trafalgar fleet may never sail again.

The fracture is being treated as an ‘irreparable generic fault’ that will prevent it from being able to carry out normal duties.”

HMS Triumph and HMS Trenchant are Trafalgar class submarines. The other vessels in this class are in various stages of refit and maintenance.

It is also understood that HMS Astute is continuing post-refit sea trials with another Astute class submarine reportedly ready to deploy soon.

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson denied the claim that the subs would be permanently out of action:

“It is untrue to suggest that HMS Trenchant or the rest of the T-class subs are unable to deploy again.”

The crew of HMS Trenchant are currently preparing for deployment after a refit as they prepare to rejoin the operational fleet. Accoreding to the Royal Navy, the submarine is alongside in Devonport Naval Base while her engineers are busy finishing the final stages of her maintenance period.

The Royal Navy said in a statement:

“For three weeks the submarine’s command team have been hard at work in the ‘Talisman’ submarine control room simulator in Devonport – and have passed their tactical simulation training, allowing them to fire training torpedoes at the British Underwater Test and Evaluation Centre during their work-up later this year.”

Commander Rob Watts, the Commanding Officer of HMS Trenchant said:

“This is an important step in achieving full operational capability. The team have performed well and look forward to demonstrating their skills with live weapons later this year.

The realistic training ensures the crew are safe to operate the Tomahawk Land Attack Missile weapon system and can effectively use the Spearfish torpedo against surface and sub-surface targets.”

According to a press release, tough training in the simulator ‘tested the crew’s ability to operate in busy inshore shipping areas with large merchant vessels, small fishing vessels, high speed ferries, warships, submarines and military aircraft’.

The Royal Navy say the next step in the preparation to deploy the submarine is embarking the torpedoes and missiles before HMS Trenchant is welcomed back to the Royal Navy fleet as a fully operational submarine.

This comes amid claims the entire Royal Navy attack submarine fleet is out of action.

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said:

“The Royal Navy’s attack submarines meet their operational tasking and will continue to do so over the next decade.

It is not uncommon to have temporary small fluctuations in overall numbers during transition from one class to another.”

According to
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:

“With Russian submarines operating with increasing tempo near to UK waters, having no SSNs at sea is very serious, not least for the protection of the nuclear deterrent submarine.

However informed naval sources state that, while not desirable, this is a short-term blip in the maintenance cycle and more usual patrol patterns with resume in the near future.

Although rather more significant, the situation is akin to the storm that erupted last summer when all six Type 45s were alongside in Portsmouth.”

Various Royal Navy attack submarines have been seen entering and leaving Faslane on a frequent basis this month, all performing various routine tasks

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FORBIN

FORBIN

Lieutenant General
Registered Member
Good analysis !

The puzzling absence of UK fixed-wing maritime strike capability
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Long article in French i put only the part for ASuW


F-35B: Exit or Double

Finally, a third option is to increase the capacities of aircraft carriers of conventional design by integrating the F-35B, the only V / STOL aircraft to be launched shortly and in June 2015, its first take-off tests From a springboard. It was designed as a replacement for the AV-8B and the Harrier, introducing several evolutions: faster, it is stealthy radar and considered fifth generation. If its payload is larger, it is also significantly heavier - almost three times more than an AV-8B at maximum load - and significantly more expensive. Several unknowns continue to weigh on his abilities. Of course, those related to the F-35 program in general (18), but also others, specifically related to the F-35B. In 2011, US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates had declared a two-year "probationary period", with Lockheed Martin making the program permanently viable, if necessary by reconceptualizing the aircraft. Otherwise, -Gates would have simply canceled this ramification of the program JSF

Some of the issues related to an unsatisfactory power-to-power ratio were time-consuming and led the Royal Navy to renounce the F-35B to the F-35C (19). This is the case for cockpit arming, in order to reduce the radar signature: in the antinaviral area, the JSOW (Joint Stand-Off Weapon) AGM-154 (20) has been tested and Will be carried away. The Naval Strike Missile, renamed Joint Strike Missile, is expected to be integrated into the aircraft in the 2020s. A Harpoon-like craft or a future airborne variant of the LRASM would require an under-the-wing transport, requiring space. The success of the F-35B program would not be without consequence for a number of navies. On the one hand, European aviation capabilities would be saved. If the British estimated a year ago that they would not board more than 15 F-35Bs on one of their aircraft carriers, which appeared to be over-sized (65,000 tons for a daily volume of In the order of 10 to 12), the recent Strategic Defense and Security Review confirms a target of 138 aircraft (48). Moreover, if Italy will buy 30 F-35B well, Spain has not yet ordered. With eleven large amphibious vessels (eight Wasp and at least three America) and 240 F-35B, the United States will also have a significant capacity.

On the other hand, the aircraft can be embarked on buildings such as the Juan Carlos LHD, purchased by Australia and Turkey - two F-35A acquiring countries, facilitating a possible integration of the F-35B. Ankara has never made a mystery of its naval ambitions, while the issue of the endowment of the two Australian buildings in F-35B occasionally surfaced in the local media. If the option is not cited in the recent Australian White Paper, there is nothing to prevent it from being revisited in the future. Japan, whose Izumo class helicopter destroyers are 178 m longer than the Juan Carlos and may not require a ski-jump facility (22), are 248 m long, Even if the general configuration of the ship should allow - unlike the Hyuga (23).

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TerraN_EmpirE

TerraN_EmpirE

Tyrant King
AVALON: RAAF, Airbus look to increase MRTT capabilities

  • 01 MARCH, 2017
  • SOURCE: FLIGHTGLOBAL.COM
  • BY: GREG WALDRON
  • MELBOURNE


The Royal Australian Air Force and Airbus Defence & Space will launch a joint study into how to add capability to the A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT).

The aim of the work will be to better use the presence of such a large airborne asset operating near a combat zone, says Fernando Alonso, chief executive of Airbus Military.

The project, called Smart Tanker, will explore the possibility of using the MRTT, which the RAAF designates the KC-30A, as a communications node or a command and control centre.

Other applications to be explored include how the KC-30A could be used for intelligence, surveillance and reconaissance (ISR) work, or how it may be employed for covert operations.

The project will also explore how to increase automation in the jet’s refueling boom. This could help alleviate the issue of air refueling officer (ARO) fatigue, and make boom movements more predictable for the pilots of incoming aircraft.

Now, AROs manipulate two control columns to direct the boom and refueling arm to the incoming jet. The system envisaged, says Alonso, would allow incoming jets to be refueled with very little ARO intervention.

The RAAF operates five KC-30As, with orders for two additional aircraft.

Airbus first mooted the concepts enshrined in Smart Tanker to users of the A330 MRTT in 2016. Of the type’s operators, the RAAF was the most enthusiastic, says Alonso.
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