On 6th February the Minister for Defence Procurement confirmed in Parliament that all 7 Astute class submarines would be completed by the end of 2026, despite the serious delay to the delivery of HMS Audacious. Here we look at the submarine programme in the medium-long term.
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As part of their successful bid to build 5 Type 31 frigates for the RN, Babcock is constructing a new module hall to assemble the ships at their Rosyth yard. Here we examine the new facility and the implications of this investment.
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The Thales TACTICOS Combat Management System (CMS) will be a critical aspect of the Type 31 programme. In this article, we look at the project to develop and integrate the fighting heart of the frigate.
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Head of the Ministry of Defence, Stephen Lovegrove recently wrote another confessional letter, this time to the Public Accounts Committee admitting that the first Type 31 frigate will not be in service until May 2027. Back in the halcyon days of 2017, the First Sea Lord was expecting the lead ship to be in service fully 4 years earlier, by 2023.
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Babcock recently released a better quality rendering of the Type 31 frigate design for the Royal Navy. Below is the image annotated with the equipment fit. At this stage, the concept design process is underway with the detailed design phase due to begin in late 2020. This is only an indicative outline which may be subject to further changes.
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Speaking at DSEI in September 2019, RN Commander Operations, Rear Admiral Paul Halton said: “We are thinking about how we might enhance the lethality of the Batch II OPVs”. In this article, we consider some of the options and implications for upgrading these vessels.
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