COVENTRY MESSAGE BOARD

The Royal Navy could lose its ability to assault enemy-held beaches under plans being considered in the Ministry of Defence



Two specialist landing ships - HMS Albion and Bulwark - would be taken out of service under the proposals.

The plan - part of a package of cost-cutting measures - has caused alarm among senior Royal Marine officers.

The MoD told the BBC that no decisions have been made yet and that discussion of options was "pure speculation".

It is understood the head of the Royal Navy, Admiral Sir Philip Jones, formulated the move as part of a package designed to balance the books and free up sailors for the service's two new aircraft carriers.

Critics say the proposal would deprive the Royal Marines of their core mission.

Among other cuts envisaged are: a reduction of 1,000 to the strength of the Royal Marines, the early retirement of two mine-hunting vessels and one survey vessel.

A senior Royal Marine officer blamed the introduction of the new carriers for exacerbating the senior service's financial and manning problems.

He told the BBC: "This is the worst procurement decision of the past half century, that's what the Royal Marines are being sacrificed for."

The proposed cuts are part of a raft of "adjustments" being considered by all three services - the Royal Navy, the Army and the Royal Air Force - as the Ministry of Defence struggles to balance its books.

With the retirement of HMS Ocean already announced, and the new plans to lose the two landing ships, the Royal Marines' ability to use landing or hovercraft to get ashore would be drastically curtailed.

In recent years, as an economy measure, the Royal Navy has only been crewing Albion or Bulwark alternately - they are big ships, each requiring a complement of 325.

While the government has dubbed 2017 "the Year of the Royal Navy" and emphasised its commitment to a new national shipbuilding strategy, observers at the MoD noticed that this blueprint contained no commitment to renew the amphibious warfare fleet.

Navy’s new £3.1bn aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth needs repairs costing millions for leak



THE Royal Navy’s new £3.1billion aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth has a leak so serious it may need to go back into dry dock — for repairs that will cost millions.

A faulty seal around one of the vast warship’s propeller shafts means 200 litres of sea water pour in every hour.

Insiders said there is a “significant” defect with the stern seal, an inflatable rubber ring that fits around one of the propeller shafts.

The problem was spotted during sea trials.

Top Brass are furious because the carrier, the UK’s largest ever warship, had the fault when it was delivered by ship building partnership the ­Aircraft Carrier Alliance.

That means the manufacturers will have to pay for the repairs, not the Ministry of Defence.

But the Navy is now concerned about future repairs which would have to be funded by the taxpayer.

An insider added: “We’re about to uncover the true cost of carrier ­operations.

"There is a feeling that the ACA mugged us off by not sorting this before the handover.”

The Queen Elizabeth is currently in Portsmouth and may need to go back into dry dock to be fixed.

An investigation is under way to discover if sister ship HMS Prince of Wales, which is yet to start sea trials, has the same problem.

dutchman wrote:I've been convinced from the start that at least one or possibly even both aircraft carriers will also be sold off at a knock down price.

Brazil Is Reportedly Buying the Royal Navy's Only Helicopter Carrier On the Cheap



The United Kingdom has reportedly finalized the sale of the helicopter carrier HMS Ocean to Brazil for less than a third of what it originally spent to build the ship. The Brazilian Navy looks to be the big winner in the deal, which effectively ends the possibility of the Royal Navy having any interim aircraft carrier capability, no matter how limited, until HMS Queen Elizabeth enters operational service.

On Jan. 2, 2018, U.K. Defence Journal reported that Brazilian Defense Minister Raul Jungmann had confirmed the purchase in December 2017. Brazil will pay almost $115 million for Ocean, but it is unclear if that cost will include any refit or refurbishment of the ship or if the government in Brasilia will have to come up with the entire amount at once. The United Kingdom still has yet to officially decommission the ship, which it expects to do in 2018, but the first rumors of the sale appeared in March 2017.

Throughout her service with the Royal Navy, Ocean has already demonstrated her capabilities to perform this wide array of tasks, most recently arriving in the Caribbean to provide aid to British possessions after Hurricanes Irma and Maria.

These diverse capabilities in times of both war and peace have made helicopter carriers and amphibious assault type ships with similar flight decks increasingly popular around the world, especially among countries looking to expand their ability to project power and influence beyond their borders. On top of their more practical functions, this category of ships are often major symbols of national prestige and Ocean herself is presently the Royal Navy's flagship.

If nothing else Brazil gains a very flexible ship, which only entered Royal Navy service in 1993. The ship is less robust that other similar vessels, as it was made to commercial standards and could need significant overhaul before joining the Brazilian Navy. However, between 2013 and 2014, the United Kingdom put Ocean through significant refit that cost nearly $90 million.

The vessel originally cost less than $200 million – but more than $390 million today – meaning that Brazil will get the ship at less than a third of its original price tag. Admiral Ferreira’s assessment that the purchase would be “convenient” would seem to be generous to the British.

Whatever happens, the loss of Ocean will be significant for the Royal Navy, leaving it without an operational carrier capability of any kind as it waits for HMS Queen Elizabeth to reach initial operational capability. The United Kingdom doesn’t expect this to happen until at least 2021, in part due to slow pace of getting the F-35B Joint Strike Fighter into service. As such, the country’s new supercarrier will go to sea for her first patrol with at least some of her air wing made up of U.S. Marine Corps F-35Bs.

As such, in the event of any future contingencies or disasters, such as Hurricanes Irma and Maria, and without HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark, the United Kingdom will have to rely entirely on ships the quasi-military Royal Fleet Auxiliary, primarily the three Bay-class landing ships, for amphibious support. These smaller ships are significantly less capable than Ocean both in terms of flight and well deck space.

What seems clear is that Brazil is getting the base ship at an absolute steal and that the Royal Navy is still years away from having another operational aircraft carrier.

UK's broken-down £3bn warship HMS Prince of Wales stripped for parts
Items from aircraft carrier, whose proposed visit to US was cancelled last year after mechanical failure, used to repair sister vessel

Britain’s £3 billion warship HMS Prince of Wales is being stripped for parts after a major mechanical failure last year.



The aircraft carrier broke down after technical issues centred on the starboard side propeller last August led to the cancellation of a long-planned visit to the US.

The incident, off the coast of the Isle of Wight, occurred less than 24 hours into the passage across the Atlantic.

The warship's port propeller also needs to be replaced as it is suffering from the same issues, according to the Mail on Sunday.

While in dry dock in Scotland, some parts from HMS Prince of Wales are being stripped and used to replace broken items on her sister ship, HMS Queen Elizabeth.

Oil and fuel filters, used to separate sea water from diesel in the fuel tanks to prevent fouling of the engine, have been taken from the carrier.

Also removed was the chain from one of the flight desk lifts, used to carry fighter jets from the interior hangars up to the flight deck.

After one of the links broke on HMS Queen Elizabeth, it was deemed too expensive to contract industry immediately for a replacement.

'Equipment cannibalisation'

Stripping HMS Prince of Wales, a process sometimes known as "equipment cannibalisation" has saved time and money, a navy source told the Telegraph, adding that the links have already been replaced on both ships.

The estimated cost of repairs to HMS Prince of Wales is expected to be approximately £25 million.

Components of HMS Prince of Wales’ capability upgrade programme were conducted in parallel with initial work to the propulsion shafts. While this has resulted in additional time in Rosyth, the ship’s availability is not affected, and she will return to service as declared.

A Royal Navy spokesman said: “We remain committed to ensuring HMS Prince of Wales commences her operational programme as planned, in autumn 2023, including operational flying training and trials.

“It is not unusual for equipment to be transferred between ships of the same class to ensure operational availability and avoid delays.

“We do not provide a running commentary on the specific details of ships undergoing repair or maintenance.”