UK Royal Navy: News & Discussions
- Thread starter Parthu
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Fragile frigates for a country of snowflakes.
The days of spectacular dynamic launches down a slipway are now gone – the submersible barge method is a much more controlled way of putting a ship into the water. A slipway launch briefly places great stress on the hull and the confined waters of the river Clyde require the ship to be rapidly slowed after launch to avoid hitting the opposite bank
www.navylookout.com
Old Blighty lacks funds & the only feasible way is to spread the expenses over a longer time period.
The days of spectacular dynamic launches down a slipway are now gone – the submersible barge method is a much more controlled way of putting a ship into the water. A slipway launch briefly places great stress on the hull and the confined waters of the river Clyde require the ship to be rapidly slowed after launch to avoid hitting the opposite bank
In focus: delivering the Type 26 Frigates | Navy Lookout
www.navylookout.com
Commissioning only by 2028 ? why is that?
Old Blighty lacks funds & the only feasible way is to spread the expenses over a longer time period.
Lack of vessels is why Iran of all nations have been regularly bumming UK with the latter being unable to do anything about it yet it doesn't prevent them from provoking Iran every now & then .Fragile frigates for a country of snowflakes.
The days of spectacular dynamic launches down a slipway are now gone – the submersible barge method is a much more controlled way of putting a ship into the water. A slipway launch briefly places great stress on the hull and the confined waters of the river Clyde require the ship to be rapidly slowed after launch to avoid hitting the opposite bank
In focus: delivering the Type 26 Frigates | Navy Lookout
Old Blighty lacks funds & the only feasible way is to spread the expenses over a longer time period.
One would imagine UK loves being bummed given how within a few months of the allied troops hasty & totally disorganised withdrawal from Afghanistan their General Sir Nickyboy expressed the hope of establishing normal relationship with the Taliban dismissing questions about their being terrorists likening them to country lads .
Gives one an insight into the preference of the Royal Army when it comes to being bummed eh Paddy ? @BMD
Btw do you actually think those frigates would materialize from 2028 onwards given the state of the British economy & in the projected numbers.
Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) on LinkedIn: The first P-8A Increment 3 Block 2 aircraft assigned to Air Test and… | 52 comments
The first P-8A Increment 3 Block 2 aircraft assigned to Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 20, undergoes testing in the anechoic chamber at Naval Air… | 52 comments on LinkedIn
with glue?! omg
(opex360 (fr), feb.01)
A "faulty" repair has been discovered on board the British submarine HMS Vanguard
In 2015, one of the Royal Navy's nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs), HMS Vanguard, was put into dry dock for a three-year, £200 million Periodic Maintenance and Repair Outage (PMRO).
The operation was made all the more urgent by the fact that, in 2012, radiation was detected in the cooling water of its PWR2 "control" reactor, due to a microscopic lesion in the fuel sheath.
In the end, the submarine was not returned to the Royal Navy until July 2022, seven years after the start of its IPER [and an additional cost of £300 million]. The Babcock Group, which was responsible for carrying out the IPER, said it would have to carry out more than 25,000 tasks requiring 2.5 million man-hours, with 2.3km of cable to be installed and 26,000 pieces of equipment to be thoroughly checked, overhauled or replaced if necessary.
However, despite the time taken to complete this IPER, some tasks were probably not carried out with the necessary rigour required for an SNLE. Indeed, the Royal Navy ordered an urgent investigation after the discovery of a "faulty" repair.
At least seven broken bolts - because they had been over-tightened - were repaired with... glue while holding the insulation on the nuclear reactor's cooling pipes.
The technicians did report the broken bolts... but said nothing about their makeshift repair. This was discovered a few weeks ago, when the nuclear boiler room was being launched at full load. While the Royal Navy insists that safety was not compromised at any time, it is keen to get an explanation from Babcock...
"It makes you wonder what might have been done wrong elsewhere. Damage like this should have been detected long before this late inspection," said Commander Ryan Ramsay, a former submariner, in The Sun. This calls into question the trust placed in the manufacturer...
"Any quality issue is a huge disappointment. But our own robust inspection processes discovered the problem and we took immediate action to resolve it," said a Babcock spokesman.
Except that the company is struggling to convince. "Nuclear safety is not an option. It is non-negotiable," argued [Labour] MP Luke Pollard, who is elected from the Plymouth area. And if Babcock did detect and correct the problem, he believes it should never have happened.
However, during HMS Vanguard's IPER, 'continuous deterrence at sea' [CASD] relied on HMS Victorious [which had a problem with a fire on board], HMS Vigilant and HMS Vengeance.
In 2022, against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine and Russian nuclear threats, two of them would have each patrolled for 157 days. "The great danger is that this unchanging routine, week after week, leads to boredom, complacency and an inevitable lowering of standards," Rob Forsyth, a former commander of the Resolution-class SSBN, told The Guardian newspaper. /deepl
Ah ! Yet another example of the famous British efficiency & rigourous adherence to professional standards on display . A mere 10 yrs spent in overhaul translates to an additional 10 yrs of life . Such ingenuity can only come from the Brits . Sign of times to come , me thinks .
Rule Britannia , Britania rule the waves was no coincidence then ... Iran would concur , wouldn't they Paddy ? @BMD
Rule Britannia , Britania rule the waves was no coincidence then ... Iran would concur , wouldn't they Paddy ? @BMD
Glue used to repair nuclear submarine? Royal Navy orders investigation after reports surface
An urgent investigation was ordered by the Royal Navy amid claims that broken bolts in the reactor chamber of the Trident nuclear-armed submarine were fixed using glue by workers. As per a report by the Sun, faulty repairs were discovered on HMS Vanguard’s cooling pipes after one of the bolts came out during an inspection.Originally, the bolt heads came off because of over-tightening. However, instead of replacing the damaged shafts, a quick fix was implemented by the staff at the defence contractor Babcock using glue.
The engineers called it a procedural glitch after the problem was discovered, however, no one mentioned the repair’s botched nature.
“It’s a disgrace. You can’t cut corners with nuclear. Standards are standards. Nuclear standards are never compromised,” stated a navy source.
“The glued bolts held insulation in place on the coolant pipes in the nuclear reactor and were found just as workers were set to fire it up to full power for the first time,” reported the newspaper.
The records of repairs will be trawled by the investigators to find out when the bodged repair took place and who should be held ultimately responsible.
The spokesperson of the Ministry of Defence said that a “defect” was found on HMS Vanguard when in dry dock and that it was “promptly reported and fixed”.
The spokesperson said the defence secretary, Ben Wallace, held talks with the chief executive of Babcock, David Lockwood, “to seek assurances about future work”.
Babcock’s spokesperson said, “Any quality-related issue is a huge disappointment, but our own robust inspection processes discovered the issue. There was no safety or operational impact from the work.”
An urgent investigation was ordered by the Royal Navy amid claims that broken bolts in the reactor chamber of the Trident nuclear-armed submarine were fixed using glue by workers. As per a report by the Sun, faulty repairs were discovered on HMS Vanguard’s cooling pipes after one of the bolts came out during an inspection.
Originally, the bolt heads came off because of over-tightening. However, instead of replacing the damaged shafts, a quick fix was implemented by the staff at the defence contractor Babcock using glue.
The engineers called it a procedural glitch after the problem was discovered, however, no one mentioned the repair’s botched nature.
“It’s a disgrace. You can’t cut corners with nuclear. Standards are standards. Nuclear standards are never compromised,” stated a navy source.
“The glued bolts held insulation in place on the coolant pipes in the nuclear reactor and were found just as workers were set to fire it up to full power for the first time,” reported the newspaper.
The records of repairs will be trawled by the investigators to find out when the bodged repair took place and who should be held ultimately responsible.
The spokesperson of the Ministry of Defence said that a “defect” was found on HMS Vanguard when in dry dock and that it was “promptly reported and fixed”.
The spokesperson said the defence secretary, Ben Wallace, held talks with the chief executive of Babcock, David Lockwood, “to seek assurances about future work”.
Babcock’s spokesperson said, “Any quality-related issue is a huge disappointment, but our own robust inspection processes discovered the issue. There was no safety or operational impact from the work.”
Glue used to repair nuclear submarine? Royal Navy orders investigation after reports surface
An urgent investigation was ordered by the Royal Navy amid claims that broken bolts in the reactor chamber of the Trident nuclear-armed submarine were fixed using glue by workers. As per a report by the Sun, faulty repairs were discovered on HMS Vanguard’s cooling pipes after one of the bolts...
www.wionews.com
Another sterling example of British engineering . A technical feat of the highest calibre , no doubt. Had the Russkies done it , you'd have subjected them to the choicest abuse even racial ones . But now that the Brits have gone ahead & done it , let's give them credit for being honest about it .
Btw - What's the racial composition of the RN like , Paddy ? I mean what's the Paddy component in it ? Or did the English finally achieve all this on their own without you guys ? Project Paddyfication aka Tiocfaidh Ar La of the UK is finally achieved or do we expect to see a Chernobyl like meltdown to deem Project Paddyfication successful , eh Paddy ? @BMD
Btw - What's the racial composition of the RN like , Paddy ? I mean what's the Paddy component in it ? Or did the English finally achieve all this on their own without you guys ? Project Paddyfication aka Tiocfaidh Ar La of the UK is finally achieved or do we expect to see a Chernobyl like meltdown to deem Project Paddyfication successful , eh Paddy ? @BMD
Growing signs Australia's new nuclear sub will be British design - Breaking Defense
"We need to leverage expertise from the United Kingdom and the United States to help us along our optimal pathway – and building capability with them means we are better able to shape, deter and respond within our strategic landscape," Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said.
NavyLookout: The headline is very silly but the article does suggest the (now defunct) Aircraft Carrier Alliance members will probably still be jointly responsible for covering the cost of rectifying propellor shaft issues with HMS Prince of Wales, the ACA was comprised of BAE Systems, Babcock and Thales UK with the MoD having a small stake. The snag with the otherwise excellent consortium concept is that there can be lots of passing the buck when things go wrong (...)
(telegraph.co.uk, feb.10):
Anglo-French row erupts over breakdown of Britain’s £3bn aircraft carrier
Attention turns to Paris-based Thales as carrier remains docked and needing essential repairsWhen the first Royal Navy F-35 warplane touched down on the deck of the HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier two years ago, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace hailed it as a “momentous milestone” for the fleet.
Billions of pounds of investment and years of work to restore a functioning carrier fleet to the British Navy were finally coming together.
Yet the HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier, which cost taxpayers £3bn, spent most of last year docked after problems were discovered with the vessel. A long-planned visit to the US was cancelled because of propeller issues, leaving its sister ship the HMS Queen Elizabeth II as Britain's operational carrier.
The consortium of the British and European companies that built the 65,000 tonne HMS Prince of Wales are now nervously awaiting a government report into the problem, amid calls for whoever is to blame to foot the bill for the damage.
“There's going to be quite a large amount of finger pointing,” says one industry insider. “It's a little bit embarrassing, let’s be honest.”
The attention of investigators has turned to Thales, according to reports. The €25bn French electronics giant works across aerospace, defence and transport.
The Paris-based company was one of three main members of the Aircraft Carrier Alliance, the consortium that delivered the ship. According to the now-defunct Aircraft Carrier Alliance website, Thales UK “led the design of the QE Class programme and is currently involved in the Power and Propulsion sub-alliance, which the company leads.”
The Prince of Wales broke down last summer as a result of technical issues centred on the starboard side propeller, prompting specialist divers to inspect the vessel. They discovered that the coupling that connects the propeller and drive shafts failed, reportedly leading to rudder damage.
Coupling failure
The Telegraph revealed last week that the ship was further delayed by the alignment of the propeller shafts, a problem that could be related to the original issue that sent it back to the dock. Misalignments can cause the shaft to vibrate beyond its design tolerance, wearing down the bearings and potentially breaking a coupling on the shaft itself.
The cluster of problems around the propeller have led to speculation that Thales could be at fault, given its role in the project.
The company said it was a proud member of the alliance but declined to comment further.
Thales itself is not a shipbuilder, more a systems integrator famous for radars and radios. It was chosen to put together the complex components needed to drive the ship and was the prime contractor responsible for the job, with work subcontracted out.
Experts suggested blame is likely to be shared between a number of companies involved in the design, fitting and perhaps maintenance of the parts in question.
The other members of the Aircraft Carrier Alliance were BAE Systems, Britain's biggest defence firm, and shipbuilder Babcock.
Rolls-Royce was also involved to a lesser extent, supplying the gas turbines that help power the massive vessel. Smaller shipyards around the country assembled sections of the hull, part of a team of more than 30 companies.
Complicating matters further is the fact that the Ministry of Defence itself was part of the Aircraft Carrier Alliance, meaning the taxpayer may also be on the hook for the cost of correcting any faults.
The HMS Prince of Wales passed sea trials before problems were discovered and contractors are hoping this means that whatever went wrong is either nothing to do with them or down to an accident or event that occured after the ship was handed over.
However, the Government report, which according to Navy sources is due “very soon”, is understood to focus on a component on the propeller shaft that may have failed because of design or fitting failures, dashing these hopes.
If it does prove to be a design flaw or construction problem, the companies should be on the hook for the cost of repairing it, says former defence minister and member of commons defence committee Mark Francois.
He said: “It seems clear that if there is an inherent design or construction flaw, it should be down to the Aircraft Carrier Alliance, or their subcontractors, who actually built the ship, to pay to fix it, not the taxpayer. We cannot afford a £3 billion plus aircraft carrier with a limp.”’
The contract covering the building of the carrier is understood to make the contractors jointly liable. Given this, the companies involved are likely to want to get to the bottom of what happened as well
Repairs will be undertaken at Babcock’s shipyard in Rosyth under a maintenance deal with the MoD, although that deal is understood to not cover costs beyond routine maintenance.
Shipbuilding bosses are keen that the problem does not derail the joint venture structure used to build the ships, which helps spread work over a number of shipyards and therefore helps maintain skills should more work come their way.
Industry sources are at a loss as to how the ship passed sea trials and has now developed this problem.
However, the propeller shaft problems are the latest setback to the troubled project. Flooding issues in 2020 meant that the vessel spent less than 90 days at sea in two years and led to £3.3m of repair work.
Last week, MPs questioned Vice Admiral Paul Marshall about problems with the HMS Prince of Wales. He said that the broken starboard shaft should be fixed by the Spring, but revealed that investigators had found “issues” with the port shaft of the vessel as well.
He declined to say whether a build defect or damage at sea was the problem, but allayed MPs’ fears that its sister ship could have the same defect.
“We are confident that [...] it is not a class issue with the carriers,” he said.
A Babcock spokesman said: “One of the most complex maritime engineering programmes in the UK, the Alliance was supported by a supply chain of hundreds of organisations across the country. We remain focused on completing the repair, working with the MOD and other industry partners.”
A Royal Navy spokesman said: “We remain committed to ensuring HMS Prince of Wales commences her operational programme, as planned, in autumn 2023.
“An investigation has been commissioned to establish the cause of the starboard shaft failure on HMS Prince of Wales. This is nearing completion and it would be inappropriate to comment any further at this time.” /end
Why HMS Queen Elizabeth Carrier is Not Nuclear-Powered? #shorts
The real reason why UK didn't go in for N propulsion in its QE-II series of AC. It may not exactly be news to you Paddy . @BMD
The real reason why UK didn't go in for N propulsion in its QE-II series of AC. It may not exactly be news to you Paddy . @BMD
BAE Systems Delivers 5th Astute-class Submarine to Royal Navy - Naval News
The fifth Astute class submarine has departed the BAE Systems' shipyard and headed out to open sea for the first time.
www.navalnews.com
UK pledges $6B in defense spending 'ramp up' to replenish stocks, support AUKUS subs - Breaking Defense
Despite the previous Conservative Party government pledging to increase military spending to 3 percent GDP by 2030, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stopped short of making any such commitment and has deferred a new defense spending review until after 2025.