Royal Navy to Provide Force Package to SoH.
Cool tat, bro
As soon as it’s safe and if the Brits can that is. Right now, the Royal Navy fleet is a hollow shell of itself. All of the major classes of warships and support ships, without exception, are in various states of retirement, repair, construction, training, or crew regeneration. Some relatively new ships are moored uncrewed as they await sufficient trained manpower and funding to be used operationally. It’s thought that of the force of just 13 destroyers and frigates, only around four are seaworthy. It’s the same story with attack submarines, where only one of the five vessels is known to be operational.
U.K. Pledges Destroyer, Drone-hunting Systems to Strait of Hormuz Mission
Dzirhan Mahadzir
The U.K. has pledged a force package that includes a destroyer, Typhoon fighter aircraft, autonomous mine hunting systems and unmanned surface vessels to secure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz after the U.S. and Iran agree to a “sustainable” ceasefire agreement, the U.K. Ministry of Defense announced Tuesday.
The Royal Navy is sending destroyer HMS Dragon (D35), which has been deployed in the Mediterranean since March and is now making its way to the Suez Canal, the Ministry of Defense said. The U.K. also pledged the Royal Navy’s autonomous Kraken drone boats, allowing the multinational force to sense, track, and identify potential threats and defeat them. The Typhoon fighter aircraft will conduct air patrols over the Strait of Hormuz. Military mine-clearance specialists will also be dispatched to conduct mine-clearing operations.
The U.K.’s contribution to the Strait of Hormuz mission, co-led with France, is backed by $155.4 million U.S. dollars of new funding for mine-hunting drones and counter-drone systems.
“The U.K. is playing a leading role to secure the Strait of Hormuz, and we are demonstrating that today with a new cutting-edge kit to protect our interests and secure the Strait. New funding for autonomous mine-hunting and counter-drone systems, our advanced Typhoon jets, and HMS Dragon are strong and clear commitments – commitments to strengthen the confidence of commercial shipping and reduce the burden of the conflict on people at home,” U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey said in the release.
RN Readiness
HMS Dragon is the fourth ship of the Type 45 or Daring-class of air-defense destroyers. She was launched in November 2008 and commissioned on 20 April 2012. As for the Typhoon aircraft, it’s a fourth generation fighter best described as having diminishing relevance amid advancements in fifth-generation aerial warfare. Despite recent upgrades it cannot overcome the fundamental limitations imposed by its non-stealth design.
Category: NATO
