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The Ministry of Defence has confirmed it is reviewing parts of the programme to build two new aircraft carriers for the Royal navy, throwing doubt over the planned use of the Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter plane. This decision could have a major impact on BAE Systems, which is involved in the aircraft's development. The cost of the two new Queen Elizabeth class carriers - originally ordered under the last Labour government - have already risen dramatically from £3.5 billion to around £7 billion. Changes ordered by the coalition government could see those costs rise even further. The current confusion is...

UK aircraft carrier plans in confusion as ministers revisit square one Decision expected by Easter on which US joint strike fighter Britain will buy: ministers now want to revert to original choice Britain's troubled and increasingly expensive plan to equip the navy with new aircraft carriers has been plunged into fresh turmoil as ministers consider reversing their earlier decision to change the type of plane that should fly from them, it has emerged. The government announced in last autumn's strategic defence review that it had decided to buy the "cats and flaps" (catapults and arrester gear) version of the US...

France Could Loan Rafales to Royal Navy (Source: defense-aerospace.com; published Feb. 22, 2012) PARIS --- The Anglo-French defense initiative announced last week did not mention bilateral cooperation on aircraft carriers because Britain still has to firm up its intentions in this field, according to France’s top weapons buyer. Lauren Collet-Billon, head of the Direction Generale de l’Armement, said during a Feb. 22 press conference here that Britain still has to finalize its aircraft carrier plans, including major technical options such as the kind of catapults it wants to fit to its new aircraft carriers, and what kind of aircraft these...

Navy buys Korean to keep its ships fuelled: £452m contract for four tankers goes to the Far East By Ian Drury Defence Minister Peter Luff announced yesterday that a £452million contract for the support tankers had been awarded to Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering. Critics said the decision was a blow to Britain’s declining shipbuilding industry and to the proud naval tradition of what was once the world’s greatest seafaring nation. They also accused the Government of ‘shameless hypocrisy’ after David Cameron criticised India earlier this month for snubbing British industry when it awarded a £13billion deal to supply 126...

Royal Navy's Next Helicopter Completes Trials on HMS Iron Duke 08:36 GMT, February 20, 2012 The Royal Navy's next generation helicopter, Wildcat, has completed 20 days of demanding trials aboard HMS Iron Duke, laying the groundwork for future operations. Wildcat landed nearly 400 times on the frigate's flight deck by day and night in various weather conditions as the ship sailed off the coasts of southern England and northern Scotland. The Portsmouth-based frigate sought the most challenging weather conditions around the UK as she took the Wildcat - successor to the long-serving Lynx - to sea to help write the...

Britain had to plead with US to take part in Iran flotilla Britain was forced to plead with the US to take part in the flotilla challenging Iranian power in the Gulf after American commanders decided the Royal Navy had nothing to contribute to the mission. Defence sources have revealed that the Americans only relented and allowed a Royal Navy frigate to join the mission following an intervention from Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president. The revelation that US defence chiefs saw little military value in UK participation will raise new questions about Britain’s international clout after Coalition defence cuts. Amid...

The Royal Navy’s most sophisticated warship is being sent to the South Atlantic in a move that will send a powerful message to Argentina. Dauntless will set sail for the Falkland Islands in the coming weeks armed with a battery of missiles that could "take out all of South America's fighter aircraft let alone Argentina's," ... The Type 45 destroyer is the most advanced anti-aircraft and anti-ballistic ship in the world equipped with 48 Sea Viper missiles and the Sampson radar, which is more advanced than Heathrow air traffic control The ship is in a league of its own in...

Royal Navy reveals new supersonic anti-missile system A new air defence system that can destroy enemy missiles travelling at supersonic speeds has been revealed by the Royal Navy. Sea Ceptor missiles fired from warships will reach speeds of up to Mach 3 and protect an area of around 500 sq miles. The £483 million contract to develop the defence system has been awarded to MBDA (UK). The Ministry of Defence said the five-year project would mean continued employment for around 500 workers. Facilities across the UK including at Stevenage in Hertfordshire, Filton in South Gloucestershire and Lostock in Bolton will...

UK considers Rafale and F-18 as 'interim aircraft' 26 January 2012 Ministry of Defence concerns over the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter have led to military chiefs looking at other fast jets for the UK's aircraft carrier, it has been reported. According to The Times, Admiral Sir Trevor Soar, the current commander-in-chief fleet, said concerns were growing about rising costs and delays in the JSF programme, something now worsened by order cuts from the US. Soar, who was addressing defence companies at the ADS Maritime Interest Group, reportedly said the UK might not receive the $100m per piece F-35 jets until...

UKIP: 'UK must build naval Typhoon' 19 January 2012 The UK should cancel the purchase of the F-35C and invest in developing a naval variant of the Eurofighter Typhoon, the UK Independence Party (UKIP) has said. Lord Alexander Hesketh, UKIP's defence spokesman and former executive deputy chairman of Babcock International Group, said that adopting a naval Typhoon would allow the UK to restore carrier strike capability on its Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers before 2020 while saving money and protecting UK jobs. UKIP estimates suggest it would cost £1.4bn to develop a naval typhoon, with unit costs of around £80m....

Navy's £5bn Harrier jet replacement 'unable to land on aircraft carriers' The Royal Navy's multi-billion pound fighter plane programme is under threat amid claims that its new all-purpose jets cannot land on aircraft carriers, it has emerged. Leaked Pentagon documents claim a design flaw in the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) has caused eight simulated landings to fail. The “F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Concurrency Quick Look Review” claimed the flaw meant that the “arrestor” hook, used to stop the plane during landing, was too close to the plane’s wheels. When a fighter lands on an aircraft carrier an arrestor cable catches...

The Royal Navy has been named in the UK’s top 100 of ‘gay-friendly’ employers based on a major national survey. More than 350 companies, whose workforces total more than 1.9 million people in all – one in every 15 people in employment in the land – took part in the survey by Stonewall, the UK charity which campaigns and lobbies on behalf of lesbian, gay and bisexual men and women. The Naval Service has been one of Stonewall’s ‘diversity champions’ for the past seven years and has taken part in the organisation’s workplace survey since 2006. The RN was placed...

The Royal Navy has captured 13 Somali pirates onboard a sail boat in the Indian Ocean, the Ministry of Defence has said. A combined Nato-led counter-piracy force successfully intercepted the vessel which was known to be operating off the Somali coast. Both Royal Fleet Auxiliary Fort Victoria and United States Ship Carney manoevered into position around the dhow and encouraged her to comply with the British and American forces. After the boat refused to cooperate, a Royal Navy helicopter with Royal Marine maritime snipers was deployed to provide various clear warnings to the suspects to stop. The boat refused to...

Sailors' farewell to families as new Royal Navy destroyer HMS Daring sets off on maiden deployment to the Middle East By Daily Mail Reporter Heading out to sea from Portsmouth, this is the Royal Navy’s newest and most hi-tech warship setting sail on its maiden deployment. A crowd of family members and well-wishers gathered to wave off HMS Daring as it left its home base for a seven-month mission to the Middle East. The warship is the first of the six new Type 45 destroyers being introduced to the fleet. Daring will take over from a frigate on station east...

The Royal Navy's most formidable warship is being sent to the Gulf for its first mission as tensions rise in the strategically vital region, it can be disclosed. Naval commanders believe the deployment of HMS Daring, a Type 45 destroyer, will send a significant message to the Iranians because of the firepower and world-beating technology carried by the warship.Philip Hammond, the Defence Secretary, has publicly warned Iran that any blockade of the Strait of Hormuz would be "illegal and unsuccessful".

Britain voices concern over future of F-35 in US WASHINGTON — British Defence Minister Philip Hammond voiced concern on Thursday about possible cuts or delays in the US F-35 fighter program as London plans to equip a future aircraft carrier with the stealthy aircraft. In a visit to the US capital, Hammond said he wanted to hear from Defense Secretary Leon Panetta about the potential effect of a new US military strategy and budget plan on the future of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. "One of the things I hope to understand in the meetings I am to have later...

SAS target Taliban using Royal Navy submarine technology The SAS is targetting Taliban insurgents and Afghan smugglers in the Helmand desert using Royal Navy technology designed to hunt down Soviet submarines, it can be disclosed. The Daily Telegraph has been allowed access to operations along supply routes that involve radar technology traditionally used to spot periscopes breaking the surface and missiles skimming across wave tops. Using a sack-like device with which helicopters carry the radar equipment, the Sea King airborne surveillance and control (Skasac) can spot camel trains, pickup trucks and insurgents on foot dozens of miles away. The Navy...

<p>Top secret papers are set to prove that the warship Belgrano was heading into the Falkland's exclusion zone when it was sunk, and not heading back to port as the Argentinians claimed.</p> <p>For decades debate and recrimination has raged over where the ship was heading when it was torpedoed by a Royal Navy submarine.</p>

Nuclear submarine should be sent to Falklands to show British anger at boat ban decision A nuclear submarine should be sent to the Falkland Islands to illustrate Britain’s anger at a decision by South American countries to ban boats bearing the island's flag, the former head of the Royal Navy said. Lord West, the former the former First Sea Lord, said Britain should also undertake military exercises in response to the “aggressive” decision by the Mercosur bloc to close ports to ships flying the “illegal” flag. The Foreign Office also condemned the decision by the bloc, which includes Argentina, Brazil...

Destroyer keeps watch on Russian carrier 14 December 2011 | Royal Navy destroyer has rushed to intercept a flotilla of Russian ships off Scotland in a return to Cold War tensions. The battlegroup, headed by aircraft carrier the Admiral Kuznetsov, is understood to have sought shelter from a storm in the Firth of Moray. The Admiral Kuznetsov is en route to Syria, in a show of Russian support for the country’s under-fire regime. Along with destroyer escort she has diverted toward the Scottish coast, apparently to take shelter from North Sea storms. At 65,000 tons the Admiral Kuznetsov is roughly...