February 2012

Clockwork JHC – is located 200 miles inside the Arctic Circle, and is where to be found the British Joint Helicopter Command training base at Bardufoss (Norway).    The base, known as Clockwork JHC, provides survival and operational training and support facilities that enable aviation capable units to survive, operate and fight in extreme cold weather environments.    In the inhospitable terrain, with extreme weather conditions and temperatures as low as minus 35 degrees celsius make Bardufoss the ideal location for cold weather warfare training.    Some 200 naval personnel in the Commando Helicopter Force (The 'Jungles') from Yeovilton, are currently deployed to Clockwork to undertake training and make preparations for Exercise Cold Response which takes place in northern Norway in mid-March.    This exercise involves 2,000 Royal Navy and Royal Marines personnel, with the nation's flagship, the Assault Ship BULWARK in the vanguard among other ships.    Some 13,000 troops of NATO nations will be participating in Exercise Cold Response.

February 2012

SPAG Trains for Submarine Rescue in Gibraltar - members of the Submarine Parachute Assistance Group (SPAG) drawn from all three services have been putting their parachuting skills to the test at Gibraltar with the Group's main task is to deploy a team of people with escape and rescue knowledge to the scene of a submarine in distress - and to do so as quickly as possible.     They are usually are on six hours' notice to take-off, twenty-four-hours-a-day, all-year-round, and, at RAF Brize Norton, there is always a HERCULES transport aircraft available in the event of a submarine emergency.

The exercise has seen a tri-service mix of medics, logistics specialists, radio operators, engineers, divers, and even trainee parachute instructors, taking part.       Exercise Gib Splash is also an important training event for the aircrew themselves as they need to learn how to fly as low as 1,000 feet over a precise target, and with parachutists jumping from the tailgate, and the exercise allows the boat crews on the water to gain additional water safety qualifications as Gibraltar is ideal for this kind of training.   The next part of the SPAG training will come in July when they rehearse the other part of the operation - that of building a floating triage and medical centre.

February 2012

Royal Navy Diving Expertise – It is usual for the Fleet Diving Squadron to have two divers always on ten minutes notice to deploy anywhere for explosive ordnance disposal, and within 24 hours a five man team can be sent anywhere in the world for fleet maintenance and repairs.    The Fleet Diving Squadron is a 150 strong team from its HQ in Horsea Island, Portsmouth, with assets located in Portsmouth, Plymouth and Faslane.    The Northern Diving Group (based in Faslane) is primarily responsible for providing bomb disposal teams and underwater engineering capability whilst the Southern Diving Group is one of two Fleet Diving Squadron Area Diving Groups under the command of the Fleet Diving Group whose mission is to deliver Maritime explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Force, Protection, Diving and EOD to the Fleet.

It was not surprising therefore that the Italian authorities asked for and were given the services of “Scotland's top Royal Navy diver” (Lieutenant Commander Kevin Stockton) who flew to for multinational discussions on the best way to recover remaining bodies trapped in the capsized cruise ship COSTA CONCORDIA.    Experts from Italy, Germany, Sweden and Denmark discussed the options available to divers in what is now the sixth week since the liner keeled over off Isola del Giglio, off the coast of Tuscany, Italy, on 13 January 2012.

The Northern Diving Group in December 2011 the Group won the Royal Navy's 2011 Diving Unit Effectiveness Trophy after responding to 120 explosive ordnance device call outs in the year, including carrying out crucial forensic work as part of the Celtic Football Club parcel bombs investigation. In that case, they dismantled the packages by hand, photographing and x-raying them before handing them over to scientists and detectives.   In another incident, a team of divers from the unit were airlifted to a nuclear submarine in the Atlantic and worked for 36 hours non stop to free a fouled propulsor unit, enabling the submarine to return to its patrol duty as quickly as possible.

February 2012

New Royal Navy Sea Survival Training Centre - The new training centre was officially opened at Horsea Island (Portsmouth) to give current and future Navy personnel the best preparation if the worst thing were to ever happen at sea.     The £2.4m project has replaced the old facility established in 1982 following the introduction of the statutory requirement for all Royal Navy personnel to undertake initial and subsequent regular refresher training in ship abandonment and sea survival procedures.   During the 1982 Falklands Conflict, Her Majesty's ships COVENTRY, SHEFFIELD, ANTELOPE and ARDENT were lost together with Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels SIR GALAHAD and SIR TRISTAM which were damaged to such an extent that personnel were required to abandon ship.

The events of 1982 and the subsequent lessons learned brought the training requirements into sharper focus and indeed the dedicated Sea Survival Training Centre at Horsea Island was established in Portsmouth.      Construction was completed on the new facilities in December 2011, slightly ahead of schedule, and was managed by the Royal Naval Infrastructure Organisation (RNIO), with the contract being delivered through a partnering relationship between Babcock (formally VT Flagship) and the principle contractor Mansell Construction, supported by a design team from Gifford Consulting.

February 2012

Underwater Climate Change Research - Data collected by Royal Navy submarines, as part of standard operations, is set to provide clues on Arctic climate change.    Little is known about the areas of water underneath the Arctic ice, as sensors are difficult to place for the long term. Now environmental researchers are to be presented with previously unavailable information, courtesy of the Ministry of Defence.      Environmental data such as water temperature and salt content are routinely monitored by all Royal Navy vessels, so submarine missions can provide a snapshot of conditions under the ice and shed light on the changes taking place in the Arctic.    The MOD's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory is working with the Natural Environment Research Council and the UK Hydrographic Office to prepare data for the benefit of environmental researchers.

February 2012

Korean MARS - The order for the next generation of support tankers for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary are seemingly  to be built in South Korea by Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering who have become the preferred bidder to build the four (4) 200m 37,000 tonne (displacement) vessels costing £452 million.   Each tanker will have three replenishment facilities (two starboard/one port) with the ability to add a fourth later at the stern.    There is also a flight deck and an maintenance hanger for a MERLIN sized helicopter, something unknown of LEAFs and ROVERs in service.  The Koreans were successful by default as although a number of British companies took part in the competition, none submitted a final bid for the "build contract".    UK firms will however benefit from associated contracts - including the provision of key systems and equipment - worth £150 million. The winning design for the ships is by the British company BMT Defence Services.

The four Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability (MARS) tankers will are due to enter service in 2016 and will replace the two “ROVER” Class (BLACK ROVER and GOLD ROVER) and the larger ORANGELEAF and hopefully the fourth vessel will represent a recovery of lost capability of the BAYLEAF following the SDSR.   Of the £ 150 million said to be “won” by British companies this is made up of £90 million for actual equipment contracts (for equipment, systems, design and support services), and a further £60 million of investment in the UK to allow customising the vessels for the military service, trials and specialist engineering help.

February 2012

UK Commando Raids on Pirate Bases  - it was reported on the SUN (so it must be true!) that the Attorney General has given the green light for commando raids on pirate bases in Somalia.   The SUN reported that the attacks are to be launched from the aircraft carrier (journalistic licence ahoy ?) OCEAN and will involved the APACHE helicopter gunships.    Detailed plans have been drawn up (at the end of last year) for the military raids along Somalia's coast, and this was discussed at a full meeting of the UK National Security Council where senior “Whitehall officials” argued against the plans, fearing they could stir up more trouble in the region.

Behind this story was the wider issue of the Somali pirates who in 2011 attacked 400 international ships hijacking more than 100 and who since 2008 have taken thousands hostages.    The British Prime Minister hosted an international summit in London aimed at finding solutions to the Somalia crisis and the US Secretary of State and UN Secretary General joined leaders from 56 countries.   The British have a full “Captain” designated Commander of the UK Counter-Piracy Task Group,    The advent of Somali piracy in 2008 caught people by surprise, and there was a strong sense that nothing could be done to defeat the pirates.     With no obvious solution to the problems of Somalia ashore, the huge distances involved made it difficult for military forces to protect merchant vessels effectively.   Attacks on merchant vessels are down by 80 per cent and today there are only a handful of vessels held captive off the Somali coast.  Most merchant vessels in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden are now employing armed and unarmed security teams, along with other protection measures. Collectively this description of merchant ship self-protection goes by the mundane name of 'industry best management practice'.     But there is an even bigger strategic picture. The pressure put on pirates by military success has created headroom for those tackling the more intractable issues of governance ashore in Somalia. This week's Somalia Conference in London marks the next stage in restoring calm to the Indian Ocean.