[JLRC]

VT Group Secures Contract For New Offshore Patrol Vessel
 
 
(Source: VT Group; issued Feb. 25, 2005)
 
 
 VT Group plc has been awarded a contract by the Ministry of Defence for the construction of a new 80 metre Offshore Patrol Vessel (Helicopter) for the Royal Navy.  
 
The ship will be built to VT’s account, with production starting in June. She will be handed over to the Royal Navy in Autumn 2006, entering service, after the completion of trials, in Spring 2007. The ship will be chartered to the MoD for an initial period until March 2012.  
 
The programme is expected to be worth an initial total of around £30 million, under a Public-Private Partnership arrangement, with the potential for this to increase if the charter is extended. Some 100 new jobs will be created by the programme and up to 400 existing jobs safeguarded.  
 
The ship, based on the VT-built River Class which are currently under charter to the MoD, will replace the RN’s two existing Castle Class offshore patrol vessels and will carry out the role of Falkland Islands Patrol Vessel.  
 
She will be manned and operated by the Royal Navy but VT will be responsible for providing a full Contractor Logistics Support (CLS) service to maintain the vessel so that she is available for sea for more than 300 days a year. By utilising modern automated equipment and commercial maintenance practices, VT will guarantee the availability with a single ship, compared to the two currently needed to provide the same availability.  
 
VT Chief Executive Paul Lester commented: “This contract strengthens VT’s role as a leading provider of PPP/PFI solutions following the success of the River Class programme. The project will utilise excess capacity at our main shipbuilding facility, which already has a healthy order book through the Type 45 programme that stretches over the next four years.”  
 
The ‘Batch 2’ River Class design will be enhanced with a helicopter deck capable of accepting helicopters up to the size of the new Merlin aircraft, increased accommodation to cater for an embarked force, a bigger gun, higher levels of survivability and surveillance radar.  
 
-ends-

[JLRC]

New £30 Million Royal Navy Warship to be Built in Portsmouth  
 
 
(Source: UK Ministry of Defence; issued Feb. 25, 2005)
 
 
 On 25 February 2005, the Ministry of Defence awarded the contract to build a brand new warship to VT Group, as production began on another vessel, the third Type 45 Destroyer HMS Diamond, at the Portsmouth shipyard.  
 
The £30 million contract for a new Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) will create 100 new jobs and sustain around 400 posts at VT's shipbuilding facility. The new OPV will patrol waters round the Falkland Islands and is being acquired under an innovative charter and logistic support contract.  
 
Scheduled to enter service in 2007, the new OPV will be the first warship to be launched at Portsmouth since the frigate HMS Andromeda in 1967.  
 
Minister for Defence Procurement, Lord Bach, was at Portsmouth Dockyard on 25 February 2005 to announce the OPV contract award and officially launch production of the third Type 45 Anti-Air Warfare Destroyer, HMS Diamond. Lord Bach said:  
 
"Today is a day of double celebration for Portsmouth and the Royal Navy. Through this contract, VT will build a new Offshore Patrol Vessel in Portsmouth that will ensure our Falklands Island patrol service remains strong and effective for years to come.  
 
"The Type-45 programme meanwhile will provide Britain with the most advanced air destroyer fleet in the world, and it is a pleasure to get work officially underway on the third vessel in the programme, HMS Diamond.  
 
"Today, however, is not just about ships, it is about people. 100 new jobs will be created as a result of the OPV contract and a further 400 sustained. Together with the hundreds already working on the Type 45 contract, this is excellent news for Portsmouth."  
 
The new ship will replace the two Castle Class ships currently employed in the Falkland Island role, HMS Dumbarton Castle and HMS Leeds Castle. Unlike the Castle Class ships, which have to return to the UK every three years for major repairs, the new OPV's greater reliability and more modern design means she will be able to remain in the South Atlantic until 2012 and will save the taxpayer £2 million in support costs over a seven year period.  
 
Weighing in at 1,850 tonnes, the new OPV will have a crew of 34 (compared with 51 for the old Castle class ships) and be armed with a single 30mm gun. She will carry out patrol duties around the Falklands and their dependencies, and is able to accommodate a single helicopter up to Merlin size.  
 
BAE Systems Electronics is the prime contractor for the delivery of the first six Type 45 Destroyers. VT at Portsmouth and BAE Systems Naval Ships in Govan will both build and outfit substantial sections of the ships.  
 
The Type 45 Destroyer will replace the capability currently provided by the Type 42. The first of class ship is planned to enter service later in the decade.  
 
The class is to be known as the 'D' Class. HMS Daring, HMS Dauntless, HMS Diamond, HMS Defender, HMS Dragon and HMS Duncan have been announced as the names of the first six ships.  
 
-ends-

[JLRC]

Keel of Third Astute-Class Submarine Is Laid  
 
 
(Source: UK Defence Procurement Agency; issued March 11, 2005)
 
 
 First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Alan West today performed the traditional 'laying the keel' ceremony for HMS Artful -- one of the biggest and most powerful attack submarines ever procured by the Royal Navy.  
 
The ceremony marks the formal start of construction of HMS Artful, the third Astute-class submarine under construction by BAE Systems at Barrow-in-Furness. She joins HMS Astute and HMS Ambush, currently being assembled at the Barrow shipyard.  
 
With improved communications, a greater capacity for joint operations and the ability to carry more weaponry, the Astute-class submarines will become a cornerstone of UK defence capability.  
 
Defence Procurement Minister Lord Bach said: "This ceremony marks another significant stage in this important project. The Astute class will be the most advanced and powerful attack submarines the Royal Navy has ever operated and these boats will play a key part of our defences for decades to come.  
 
"The Royal Navy has a requirement for nuclear powered submarines well into the future and the Barrow-in-Furness yard remains the UK's centre of excellence for submarine building. Announcements on the procurement of further Astute class boats will be made at the appropriate time.  
 
"Submarines are extremely demanding engineering projects, and the Astute class is no exception."  
 
Around 5,500 people are employed on the project for the first three Astute class submarines, which has an expected cost to MoD of about £3.5Bn.  
 
 
BACKGROUND NOTES:  
 
1. The third of three Astute-class submarines ordered by the MoD, HMS Artful joins HMS Astute and HMS Ambush - already under construction.  
 
2. First of class HMS Astute is expected to enter service in 2009.  
 
3. Astute-class submarines will displace 7,800 tonnes dived and are 97 metres long. They will have six weapons tubes and massively increased firepower compared with earlier attack submarines. They can dive to depths in excess of 300 metres and will have a complement of 98 men. They are to be powered by a Pressurised Water Reactor 2, equipped with Core H, which will fuel the reactor for the submarine's full service life, ending the need for costly reactor refuellings.  
 
4. HMS Astute, HMS Ambush and HMS Artful are being procured by the Defence Procurement Agency Attack Submarines Integrated Project Team based at Abbey Wood, Bristol.  
 
5. Astute class submarines will be based at Faslane on the Clyde and will undergo refits at Devonport.  
 
-ends-

[JLRC]

Jane's Navy International
17 May 2005
Comms office upgrade begins for Trafalgar submarines
All seven of the UK Royal Navy's (RN's) Trafalgar-class nuclear attack submarines (SSNs) are to receive a new open-architecture communications office reconfigured to promote coherency and more rapid technology insertion in their external communications system.

[Marauder]

Royal Navy pensa em introduzir UAVs também
http://www.janes.com/regional_news/euro ... _1_n.shtml

[Lancero]

The Royal Navy’s newest super-submarine, Astute, was launched today, 8 June 2007, by HRH The Duchess of Cornwall at the BAE Systems shipyard in Barrow in Furness, Cumbria.

Vídeo

Classe

[Bravo Two Zero]

Uma pergunta:
A classe Astute é classificada como SSGN ( Cruise missile submarine ) ou como SSN ( attack submarine ) ?

[Von Einsamkeit]

SSN

SSGN é mais dedicado como o Oscar-II Russo e agora os Ohio SSGN americanos

[SSK]

http://g1.globo.com/Noticias/Mundo/0,,MUL49012-5602,00.html

[SSK]

Royal Navy Launches Latest Attack Submarine - Astute

 The Royal Navy's newest attack submarine, Astute, was launched last week (June 8, 2007) by HRH The Duchess of Cornwall at the BAE Systems shipyard in Barrow in Furness, Cumbria. Astute is the first nuclear attack submarine to be launched in the UK for almost a decade. Far bigger and more potent than the current class submarines, the 7,400 tons, 100 meter long sub weighs about 2,000 more than the current Trafalgar class submarines. Astute is expected to begin sea trials in March 2008, and is expected to enter service with the Royal Navy in 2009. It will be based in Scotland. Astute is the first vessel of four in the Astute class. The other three are AMBUSH, ARTFUL and AUDACIOUS.

http://www.defense-update.com/products/a/astute_submarine.htm

[SSK]

17 de junho de 2007 - 16:34
Malvinas abrigam maior base militar do Atlântico Sul

Base inglesa de Mount Pleasant começou a receber investimentos a 25 anos e hoje conta com grande poderio militar, 1.650 soldados e custo semanal de US$ 4 milhões
Roberto Godoy

SÃO PAULO - A guerra contra a Argentina pela posse do arquipélago das Malvinas/Falklands havia terminado em 14 de junho de 1982, com a vitória das forças britânicas, ao custo de 1,4 mil mortos - e já no dia 17, ás 12 horas, a primeira-ministra Margareth Tatcher anunciava ter recebido da rainha Elizabeth “indicação clara para garantir a defesa das ilhas”. A designação recebeu, de cara, uma dotação de £100 milhões.

Passados 25 anos e tendo sido gastos mais US$ 550 milhões, o resultado prático da ação é a mais formidável base militar do Atlântico Sul, a de Mount Pleasant dedicada a sofisticadas ações de vigilância armada. As ilhas tem 2.300 habitantes civis - os kelpers - e, até dezembro do ano passado, 3.180 carneiros contados pelo censo rural.

O grande complexo abriga 1.650 soldados da Marinha, Exército e Aeronáutica. Desde setembro de 2001, está sempre em estado de alerta intermediário por conta da guerra contra o terror. Há ainda navios, radares digitais, mísseis antiaéreos e um atracadouro habilitado a receber submarinos nucleares de grande porte.

Caças supersônicos Tornado F-3, aviões EC-130 de monitoramento eletrônico, helicópteros anti-submarinos, uma fragata lança-mísseis, lanchas torpedeiras e um grande jato VC-10/T, de reabastecimento em vôo, estão empenhados em uma operação permanente de monitoramento do espaço aéreo da região.

As autoridades de defesa do Reino Unido e as de seu maior parceiro, os Estados Unidos, temem a utilização das rotas antárticas como linha de trânsito clandestino do terrorismo internacional.

O elevado padrão de sobreaviso em Mount Pleasant foi estabelecido pelo Estado-Maior da Defesa do Reino Unido, no mesmo dia em que o governo americano revelava que suas agências de inteligência haviam tomado conhecimento de novos atentados em preparo por organizações terroristas alinhadas com a rede Al-Qaeda, de Osama bin Laden. No dia 7 de julho de 2005, o metrô de Londres era atacado por terroristas. O atentado a bomba deixou o saldo de 50 mortos e mais de 700 feridos.


Manutenção custosa
O custo de manutenção de Mount Pleasant é de quase US$ 4 milhões por semana, de acordo com orçamento 2006-2007 do governo britânico. Segundo Derek Wilkinson, um ex-oficial da Royal Air Force (RAF) que atuou recentemente na área e hoje vive no Uruguai, a rotina da base começa às 6 horas da manhã. “Faz frio o ano todo nas 700 ilhas e afloramentos austrais britânicos e nessa época isso pode significar temperatura média de 8 graus”, conta.

Seguindo uma escala variável as tripulações dos quatro caças supersônicos Tornado F-3 do Esquadrão 1435 fazem sucessivas patrulhas em regime de reação rápida. Esses grandes jatos de emprego múltiplo decolam com oito mísseis sob as asas móveis e 750 projéteis de 27 milímetros para o canhão de bordo.

Cada missão de patrulha dura em média duas horas, com raio de ação de 740 quilômetros sem reabastecimento combustível em vôo. Se as condições climáticas estiverem desfavoráveis os Tornado podem recorrer ao avião tanque, um jato VC-10. O esquema de pronta resposta será mantido por tempo indeterminado.

O pessoal da RAF, formado por 16 duplas de piloto e navegador para os Tornados, implica o trabalho em terra de 69 especialistas em manutenção. As tripulações permanecem o tempo todo com seus macacões de vôo, capacetes à mão, em salas anexas aos abrigos de concreto construídos na menor distância possível da pista de 2.590 metros de extensão.

Os Tornados voam a 2.330 km/h e podem transportar até 9 toneladas de mísseis e bombas. A fragata lança-mísseis e as corvetas torpedeiras da Marinha são responsáveis pelo controle da área de exclusão, um círculo de pouco mais de 400 quilômetros ao redor das ilhas principais, onde está a capital, Port Stanley. Um Hércules EC-130H realiza missões de transporte, de acompanhamento da atividade eletrônica e de escuta de comunicações, no ar e na superfície.

O uso das rotas antárticas para vôos irregulares é rotina entre traficantes de drogas. O espaço aéreo é pouco vigiado e a instabilidade magnética típica da região dificulta o controle. Todos os novos jatos executivos de última geração têm autonomia suficiente para realizar vôos intercontinentais transpolares e, com uma ou duas escalas, desembarcar passageiros em pistas clandestinas de qualquer ponto da América do Sul.

[SSK]

Royal Navy Tests Enghanced Block IV Tomahawk Cruise Missile  
 
The Royal Navy released today images from firing trials launch of its newest Block IV Tomahawk long-range Land Attack Missile (TLAM) conducted recently off the US coast. The missile was fired from the 5,200 ton attack submarine HMS Trenchant used one of her torpedo tubes to launch the missile, which then flew over the Gulf of Mexico, striking a target hundreds of miles away with pin-point accuracy.
 
During the 60 minute test fight the missile reached heights of 10,000 feet and speeds of 500 miles an hour. The Royal Navy plans to field the new missile with existing Trafalgar class submarines next year. The missile, produced by Raytheon, offers precision strike at targets over 1,000 miles away.

The missile is linked to satellite communication systems throughout its flight, enabling in-flight retargeting and on-course intelligence gathering and battle damage assessment capabilities. It is expected to significantly improve the long-range precision attack capability of the Royal Navy. Britain bought from the USA 64 missiles from under a £70M four years ago. The missiles will be capable of being fired from the current Trafalgar Class submarines and is considered a primary weapon for the four Astute Class nuclear powered attack submarines currently under construction.

http://www.defense-update.com/products/t/tomahawk.htm

[SSK]

HMS Astute, Britain's Latest Nuclear Submarine

Laid down by Vickers at its shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness and finished by BAE Systems, HMS Astute is Britain's latest, and by far, most sophisticated nuclear powered submarine. She was launched on June 8, 2007 and will be commissioned in about a year. While cost over-runs and delays in completion of design specifications have brought criticism to the project, the fact remains that Astute is equal to the best in the American arsenal of attack submarines.

She is the first of three in the Trafalgar series, with HMS Ambush and HMS Artful to follow. If past production of British submarines represents what is to follow, the cost of succeeding submarines will not be much less than the 960 million pounds of Astute. The series was first envisioned in the mid 1990s, but advances in electronics and the changing demands of world politics meant many revisions to original plans. The British Admiralty bombarded Vickers with design modification demands and each revision meant cost over-runs. The dilemma was to produce an obsolescent submarine within cost or to produce one that was state-of-the-art at a much higher cost. The British government chose the latter. When BAE took over the design phase, its engineers consulted with Electric Boat in Groton, Connecticut to gain a better understanding of cost-cutting measures. Recommendations included the design of hull modules vertically oriented to allow easier installation of tight-fitting equipment. The British engineers stuck to their guns in not allowing production to begin until comprehensive computer modeling detailed every step of the process.

The first British nuclear submarine was HMS Dreadnought, launched in 1960. Like the Nautilus, (SSN-571) she was essentially a test platform for its nuclear plant. That boat, being a success, brought on the Valiant, Swiftsure and Trafalgar classes of attack submarines. Each boat constructed within a class represented a more modern version of the boat preceding it. Constructed in series, as is the flow of American submarines, each boat was an improvement in performance. Most of the early Valiant and Swiftsure boats have been retired. One such modernization was the addition of conformal anechoic hull tiles to reduce sonar signature. Rolls-Royce, the producer of nuclear power plants for British submarines, perfected its PWR 1 pressurized water reactor over the years to a standard design that is durable and reliable.

Astute is larger than its predecessors at 323 feet in length and a 37 foot beam. This is similar to American designs and is determined by the volume necessary to give a reasonable freeboard when the weight of vessel is dictated by its heavy equipment. The boat's draft is about 33 feet. Its Rolls-Royce PWR 2 is the same basic design as the PWR 1, but is lighter and has a longer lasting core. With a life expectancy of 25 years, Astute will never have to be refueled. Indeed, the hull construction does not provide for refueling. Its ducted propulsor, similar to that of American Virginia class submarines, drives the boat at about 30 knots. Its passive sonar is at a par with America's best, having ranges up to 3000 miles. It will carry a crew of about 100 with berthing for another 10 special operations type personnel. It has equipment to continually extract oxygen from sea water, thus replenishing interior breathable air.

The boat's only limiting factor is the amount of food able to be stored in the already cramped space. Some things in submarines never change. U-boats hung wurst from overhead piping and stuffed boxes of canned goods outboard of engines. American Guppies and nuclear attack boats stacked crated canned goods in passage ways, bilges and every nook and cranny. Astute will probably do the same.

When commissioned in about a year, Astute will be a significant addition to the British ability to strike an enemy from long range. It will carry both torpedoes and Tomahawk missiles with ranges of over 2500 miles. It will be a submarine of great value in the coming struggle against terrorism.

[Miguel]

Reduçao da Royal Navy

Selon la presse britannique, la Royal Navy va être contrainte de se séparer de cinq nouvelles frégates, réduisant à seulement 20 le nombre de bâtiments de ce type en service. Les quatre dernières Type 22 devraient être désarmées, de même qu'une Type 23. La flotte anglaise ne devrait donc plus comprendre que 8 destroyers lance-missiles (Type 45 et 42) et 12 frégates de la classe Norfolk (Type 23). Trois de ces unités, construites dans les années 90, avaient déjà été vendues au Chili, alors que deux frégates du type 22 ont été récemment acquises par la Roumanie.
Les raisons de cette nouvelle cure d'amaigrissement de la Royal Navy tient essentiellement dans des questions de restrictions budgétaires. Au-delà des conséquences financières de la guerre en Irak, le ministère britannique de la Défense doit faire face au financement de plusieurs programmes majeurs, comme l'avion de combat F-35. Côté marine, aux coûteux sous-marins nucléaires d'attaque de la classe Astute (dont le nombre final reste plus qu'incertain), se sont ajoutés les destroyers lance-missiles du type 45, eux aussi très onéreux. Leur nombre a déjà été réduit de 12 à 8 unités mais la commande des deux derniers n'est plus assurée. Enfin, il convient d'assurer la construction des porte-avions Queen Elizabeth et Prince of Wales. La facture s'élève à plus de 5 milliards d'euros et un glissement du programme de deux ans est annoncée par la presse anglaise.

8 destroiers e 12 Fragatas :!: quem vai ficar com essas 5 Fragatas?

[P44]

Brasil? Chile? Algum país de Leste?

Portugal não é de certeza