January 2012

Washington Too - If the MoD (Navy) thought the Royal Navy was having a hard time of things with the politicos and paymasters it was clear that that their colleagues in Washington were facing much the same issues and faced impending cutbacks of some magnitude.   The US Congress was stumbling into the 2012 election and whatever the outcome the US military machine was to be rebalanced,

Iran was now front and centre with the Afghan commitment running down but still with a substantial number of men committed which would be rather exposed if the Iran situation became a hot.  Then there was the Chinese Carrier threat, but underlying both for an oil lead economy dependant of cheap imports was the economy!   There was a growing school of thought in the Pentagon that Europe and Mediterranean was no longer an area of concern and could be left to the “Europeans”.    The US Army in Germany is to be run down and the 6^th Fleet could become a shadow or paper organisation using passing warships to other theatres as it only serous components.  So in the next decade (or sooner) the following task Forces of the US 6^th Fleet could disappear from the NATO war room charts :-

·         Task Force 60 – comprising a Destroyer Squadron homeported at Gaeta (Italy).    This is the main 6^th Fleet's Battle Force to support any Carrier Strike Group entering the Mediterranean.

·         Task Force 61 – an Amphibious Assault Force with three amphibious ships and their embarked landing craft for the US Marines.

·         Task Force 62 – the Marine Expeditionary Unit (ie: the landing force) of 1,900 combat ready troops with its own integral armour, artillery, and helicopters.

·         Task Force 63 – the Logistics Force including the Military Sealift Command

·         Task Force 64 – the Special Operations element

·         Task Force 65 – another Destroyer Squadron – homeported at Naples (Italy).

·         Task Force 66 - the deployed Marine Expeditionary Unit

·         Task Force 67 – the land based Maritime Patrol Aircraft of the 6^th Fleet

·        Task Force 68 - the Navy Expeditionary Combat Force including Explosive Ordnance Disposal units, construction units and Fleet Anti-Terrorism Security Teams

·         Task Force 69 - Submarine Warfare – the area submarine and anti-submarine warfare force.

January 2012

Straits of Hormuz Hotspot – The Iranian trump card,  as they see it,  could now be “played”  and it will hurt. The US State Department were/are threatening to apply enhanced sanctions to the Iranian nuclear programme and seemingly Tehran was/is trying to create a distraction by conducting 10 days of exercises near the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, including test firing several missiles.   The Strait of Hormuz, is the 34 mile wide channel into the Persian Gulf through which much of the world’s traded oil has to pass - not much room to manoeuvre at laden Supertanker.

The UN Security Council has already passed four (4) rounds of sanctions against Iran for refusing to halt uranium enrichment and has the US Fifth Fleet based in Bahrain to protect their interests.  During the Iranian exercises the US Navy Aircraft Carrier USS JOHN C.STENNIS moved into the Persian Gulf obsessively to conduct operations in support of the ongoing Afghan operations.   The clearly annoyed some parties in Tehran who began to threaten to close the Hormuz Strait should the carrier return – a political hot potato if ever there was one.   In the event of any British involvement in events the assets available on station include the :

·         Fleet Submarine             TRIUMPH                                  Recently sailed Bahrain

·         Type 45 Destroyer         DARING                                    To sail from UK mid January

·         Type 23 Frigates            SOMERSET                               Red Sea

                                          MONTROSE                              Persian Gulf

                                          ST. ALBANS                Persian Gulf

·         Survey Ship                     ECHO                                         Persian Gulf

·         Minecountermeasures   MIDDLETON/QUORN            Bahrain Waters

                                                 PEMBROKE/RAMSEY               Bahrain Waters

·         RFA Repair Ship             RFA DILIGENCE                      Bahrain

·         RFA Fleet Tanker          RFA WAVE KNIGHT               Arabian Gulf Ready Tanker

·         RFA Stores Ship            RFA FORT VICTORIA            Indian Ocean (Yemen Coast)

·         RFA Landing Ship           RFA LYME BAY                        Bahrain (Undergoing Maintenance)

·         AWSR Sealift Ship        m.v. ANVIL POINT         Bahrain Waters

January 2012

Brazil Buy – Three 90m Patrol Boats built by BAE Systems at Portsmouth for the Government of Trinidad and Tobago under a contract signed in 2007 have been sold to Brazil.      This original contract was terminated in late 2010.      The first ship was constructed at the BAE Systems Portsmouth and the other two on the Clyde.   The first two (of the three) will be delivered in 2012 and the third will follow in early 2013.  The Brazilian Navy has signed a contract for £133 million for the supply of these 25 knot Ocean Patrol Vessels and ancillary support services.    The contract also contains a Manufacturing Licence to enable further vessels of the same class to be constructed in Brazil as there is a requirement for a further five.     Armed a 30mm cannon and two 25mm guns, as well as a helicopter flight deck the ships can carry a rigid inflatable boat.      Accommodation for a crew of up to 70 is provided and there is additional  space for 50 embarked troops/passengers and there is ample deck space for container storage.

January 2012

The Gift That Keeps Giving – Torbay, in Devon, seems an unlikely place to find an Aircraft Carrier but local interests seems determined to secure the idle ARK ROYAL and have gained significant financial support (£6.5m) with plans to turn the redundant warship into a diving wreck.   The old warrior was to be stripped and then sunk.  Promoting the idea is an Exeter scrap metal company and the Falmouth shipyard with the active support of the Crown Estates and the Torbay Council.     Other proposals for the unwanted vessel have included being used as a commercial heliport in London, a nightclub and school in China (vetoed by the Prime Minister) and a fairly nebulous future as a casino in Hong Kong.   The diving wreck proposal was described by its promoters as "With our project, once she is in the water she will keep on giving."   The local Torbay Council estimate that the wreck will cost just £35,000 a year to maintain, but could make up to £30m in the first five years for the local economy.   A 125 year lease for a site off the Devon Coast has already been agreed in principal with the Crown Estate.  

January 2012

Captain’s Command – in 2012 there will just be eight (8) ships which will have a Captain in command, they are:

·         Helicopter Carriers          ILLUSTRIOUS                       OCEAN

·         Assault Ships                    ALBION (Extended Readiness)       BULWARK

·         Destroyers (Type 45)      DARING                             DAUNTLESS

·         Frigate (Type 23)            WESTMINSTER

·         Ice Patrol Ship                 PROTECTOR    

January 2012

Commando Helicopter Force (Fleet Air Arm)  – The transfer of the RAF MERLIN helicopters moved into reality with the start of training for the Fleet Air Arm personnel - twelve (12) pilots and thirty five (35) ground crew started training at RAF Benson (Oxfordshire).   The SEA KING HC4 airframes are due out of service by 2016 and the MERLIN HC4 (as they will be known) will need to be up and flying by then.

January 2012

Falkland Guardship Secure – The Patrol Vessel CLYDE, under a contract with BAe Systems, (but Royal Navy manned), has had the original contract that saw the ship built and enter service in 2007, now extended by six (6) years and will be on station until (at least) 2018.