The U.S. budget battle threatens to put a serious crimp in Pentagon spending. But when the dust settles somewhat, here’s guessing the Navy will likely still be able to defend the nation’s coastlines and meet most of today’s overseas commitments. But budget cuts and the strain of the war in Libya have already left cash-strapped Great Britain unable to provide the single warship that normally stands by in case of a terrorist attack or other home front threat, as this sobering news clip from London’s Telegraph newspaper makes clear …
Browsing: Royal Navy
The Navy today commemorated its 2,000th Tomahawk cruise missile combat launch during a ceremony at Naval Station Norfolk aboard the destroyer Barry, which took part in the March air strikes on Libyan military facilities in support of U.N. Resolution 1973 and was credited with the 2,000th launch. Check this great pic of a launch from Barry the night the milestone was reached: We don’t know if that is THE 2,000th or not, but you get the idea. Even better: Check the video. The commemoration honored the Barry crew members for their role in the milestone launch. Tomahawks have been around…
No, we haven’t lost our sense of decorum here at Scoop Deck. FRUKUS 2011 is an invitational naval exercise now underway off the Virginia coast involving ships from Russia, France, the U.K. and the U.S. Navy. “FRUKUS” is an acronym for all four nations — we’re guessing it rhymes with RUCKUS, which means a commotion — but it’s a bit more controlled than that denotes. It’s a two-week interoperability exercise … but let’s get to the pictures of the ships, shall we? ‘Ere’s the British ship, a destroyer … The French entrant, a frigate…
There may not have been many of you — the former supply ship Saturn’s crew of 160 never included many more than 40 sailors during its 25-year run with Military Sealift Command — but here’s a respectful nod to you and your old ride, which was sunk in the Atlantic Wednesday after the George H.W. Bush Strike Group spent two days attacking the decommissioned ship during a training/sinking exercise. Ships from Destroyer Squadron 22 and aircraft from Carrier Air Wing 8, along with Patrol Squadrons 10 and 45, took part in the tactical training exercise using surface-to-surface, air-to-surface and surface-to-air…
By any measure, the Royal Navy has had a rough week. In the span of three days, the Brits cut their flagship carrier, the Ark Royal, reduced their fleet to its smallest size in centuries and, now, has run its nearly $5.5 billion nuclear submarine Astute into the mud near Scotland’s Isle of Skye. Reports broke early this morning that Astute had run aground. Agence France-Presse reports: A British nuclear submarine ran aground off a Scottish island on Oct. 22, the defense ministry said, adding that there were no immediate signs of any casualties or environmental damage. HMS Astute -…
The Navy nabbed a lot of headlines again this week. Leading the way is news that subs are now officially open to women. In other career news, the active duty master chiefs list was released. The Coast Guard is holding its ground in the oil spill – and against critics. and the Army cancelled the Non-Line of Sight Launch System, which will likely have significant ramifications for the Littoral Combat Ship. Here’s seven stories in seven minutes from the past seven days that you may not have seen, but are worthy of notice:
