RN Newsletter - New Destroyer Boosts Royal Navy
Updated 14 Aug 2007 10:17:05 AM
The Royal Navy's newest and most sophisticated destroyer - which is to be called HMS Daring - has successfully completed demanding sea trials off the Scottish coast.
Minister for the Armed Forces, Bob Ainsworth, said:
"The Type 45 is an immensely powerful state of the art destroyer that will provide a vital layer of protection from missile attack for the fleet.
"Daring's success at sea - when I gather she exceeded her design speed of 29 knots - is an excellent start to the intensive trials phase that will now begin as we bring her world-leading missile defence system into full operation."
RN Newsletter - Royal Navy's Latest Warship Makes Waves
The Royal Navy's newest warship, the Type 45 Destroyer HMS Dauntless, was launched on the Clyde today by Lady Burnell-Nugent, wife of the Commander In Chief of the Fleet.
HMS Dauntless is the second of the new Type 45 class of Anti-Air Warfare Destroyers. The Type 45s are some of the most powerful destroyers ever built for the Royal Navy & they can sail over 600 miles a day and operate around the globe, and will be able to support global offensive and peacekeeping operations, combat drug smugglers and deliver humanitarian aid.
RN Newsletter - HMS Endurance Hosts HRH The Princess Royal on Her Visit To Antarctica
The Royal Navy's ice patrol ship HMS Endurance is hosting HRH The Princess Royal in Antarctica.
Following the ship's brief stand down in Rio de Janeiro over the festive period, HMS Endurance is once again back at work in the Antarctic Peninsula, continuing her important task of surveying uncharted waters. The ship also supports the British Antarctic Survey in their scientific work, which includes studying the effects of climate change.
The eight-day visit of HRH The Princess Royal is an addition to this important work, and is the first time in 50 years that a British Royal has visited the British Antarctic Territory.
RN Newsletter - Fishery Protection Vessels Net New Lease of Life
The three fishery protection vessels operated by the Royal Navy will patrol UK waters for another five years under a £52 million lease-contract extension awarded by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to VT Group Plc today.
Portsmouth-based HMS Tyne, HMS Severn and HMS Mersey carry out fishery protection duties on behalf of the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), with crews of each vessel boarding up to ten commercial ships a day, monitoring net quotas and type. As Royal Navy vessels they also police the UK's territorial waters on home defence and anti-terrorist tasks.
Armed Forces Minister's tribute to Royal Marines
The Royal Marines of 3 Commando Brigade are making a vital contribution to security in Afghanistan, the Armed Forces Minister Adam Ingram said today on a visit to UK forces in the south of the country.
The Royal Navy, British Antarctic Survey and the BBC's Natural History Unit collaborate in a unique Antarctic science project
The Antarctic fur seal is one of the most abundant marine mammals in the world and its numbers have been increasing exponentially over the last decade or so. At the height of the Antarctic summer, 95% of the world's fur seal population gathers to breed on the coastline of one island - South Georgia.. deep in the Southern Ocean. Drawn here by the rich feeding grounds of the Scotia Sea, the fur seals feed primarily on krill, the key species of the Antarctic marine food web.
Got Sky TV? Then you've got BFBS Radio!
From December 2006 you can listen to BFBS Radio anywhere in the UK by tuning in to Sky Channel 0184.
Our stations in Iraq and Germany are joining with BFBS UK to maintain a 24-hour a day service with daily, live programmes from the very heart of the operational areas where our troops are based.
Government announces intention to maintain the UK's Nuclear Deterrent Updated 4 Dec 2006
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The Prime Minister, Tony Blair, today signalled the Government's intention to maintain Britain's nuclear deterrent beyond the 2020s. An exhaustive review of possible future nuclear threats and deterrent options has shown that renewing the Trident system, by replacing the submarines and extending the life of the Trident missiles, is the best and most cost-effective way to maintain our ability to deter future nuclear threats to the UK.
RN Newsletter - Peaceful Summit Success for HMS York
Prime Minister thanks crew of HMS York as the ship accomplishes its Fourth Operation in Five Months at NATO Summit in Riga.
The Prime Minister, The Rt Hon Tony Blair MP, today praised the crew of HMS York at the conclusion of the NATO Summit in Riga. In particular, he said he wanted to "give warm thanks to the crew for all the very good work the ship did in Lebanon".
The Prime Minister and the Prime Minister of Latvia, His Excellency Mr Aigars Kalvitis were on board to meet members of the ship's company and the Latvian infantry serving with NATO.
RN Newsletter - Wave Ruler's Astounding Third Caribbean Drug Bust
The Royal Navy fast fleet tanker RFA Wave Ruler has seized 2.9 tonnes of cocaine - her third drugs bust in as many months - bringing her total haul to a staggering eleven tonnes.
This latest seizure makes her officially the most successful British drug busting ship in recent years.
Congratulating the crew, the Defence Secretary Des Browne said:
"I am delighted to extend my thanks to the crew of RFA Wave Ruler. Once again, they have delivered a massive blow to the drug runners who profit from this awful trade. With three drug busts in as many months, this has been a fantastically successful deployment for the crew. Their dedication and skill have prevented a staggering eleven tonnes of cocaine from reaching the streets of the UK and Europe."
RN Newsletter - RN in the Public Eye - 3 Cdo Hunting the Teleban
See BBC 1 Panorama on Sun 3 Dec 06 at 2215 for a documentary about our Royal Marines who are currently deployed in Afghanistan to help the Afghans rebuild their country and keep the terrorists out. It is a tough mission, against difficult opponents; but it is a clear and essential one.
In the remote desert of southern Afghanistan, a deadly struggle is intensifying between British troops and the forces of the fundamentalist Taleban. Amid battle-scenes that have been described by one commander as the most intense "since the Korean War," the BBC's Alastair Leithead, and award winning cameraman Fred Scott, have gained unique, prolonged access to the Royal Marines of 3 Commando Brigade as they try to flush out a shifting and elusive Taleban threat.
Fourth Navy Drugs Bust in Two Months
British naval forces have taken part in a fourth major drugs bust on the high seas within the past two months in an operation in the Atlantic which completed yesterday. (Monday November 6).
The combined operation with the UK's Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) and Spanish Customs saw the Royal Navy frigate HMS Argyll, the Royal Fleet Auxiliary supply ship RFA Fort Austin, Sea King helicopters of 849 Naval Air Squadron and Royal Marines from 40 Commando assisting in the discovery of drugs with a street value of £8.8 million.
RN Newsletter - 25th Anniversary of the Falklands Conflict
The 25th anniversary of the Falklands Campaign will be commemorated across 8,000 miles and four time zones, in London, Pangbourne and the Falkland Islands from 14th to 17th June 2007. Veterans' Minister Derek Twigg announced today.
