Ministry of Defence | Defence News | Military Operations | Royal Navy's 'eye in the sky' home from Libya mission

Royal Navy's 'eye in the sky' home from Libya mission

A Military Operations news article

26 Sep 11

Royal Navy personnel, who by using Sea King Airborne Surveillance and Control helicopters helped Army Air Corps (AAC) Apache helicopter launch strikes against Gaddafi's forces in Libya, have returned home from operations.

A Sea King from 857 Naval Air Squadron on the deck of HMS Ocean during Op ELLAMY
[Picture: Leading Airman (Photographer) Guy Pool, Crown Copyright/MOD 2011]

Nearly 50 members of 857 Naval Air Squadron touched down at Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose in Cornwall on Friday, 23 September 2011, after four months away, flying over Libya in support of NATO operations enforcing United Nation Security Council Resolution 1973.

Using two Mark 7 Sea King Airborne Surveillance and Control helicopters, crews flew almost 100 operational sorties over Libya - all at night and usually lasting around three hours. In one month alone, the helicopters were airborne for nearly 150 hours.

The squadron only returned from Afghanistan in December 2010, where it proved its utility in large drugs busts and surveillance missions.

The squadron was only due to go sea for around six weeks in the spring, to prove the UK's new response force of ships and aircraft could stand ready. But in late May 2011 it was ordered to support operations off Libya and all the people, kit and helicopters were shifted to the 20,000 tonne helicopter carrier HMS Ocean.

The mission was to clear a path for the Apaches - finding safe routes in and out of Libya without being spotted. They also fed back real-time information about ground movements in Libya, passing vital information back to headquarters in Britain and at NATO for analysis.

Lieutenant Commander Geoff Hayward, Commanding Officer 857 NAS, said:

"We did what we did at short notice, on war-fighting operations at sea with a squadron just back from Afghanistan. We very quickly got to grips with operating at sea again.

An aerial view of HMS Ocean
[Picture: Leading Airman (Photographer) Guy Pool, Crown Copyright/MOD 2011]

"Our main task was ‘wide area surveillance', protecting Ocean and her escorts, providing awareness of shipping and movements so that Ocean could be in the best position to launch the Apaches and maintain surprise.

"The key to Ocean's success was launching Apaches on their strike missions and to do that our Sea Kings were critical. It wasn't just because of the situational awareness of land and air, but also because we acted as a communications link between the Apaches and the command on Ocean. That link was crucial to the success of missions.

"There's a great feeling coming back to the ship, seeing the Apaches there, attending the briefing and realising that the information that you passed to them was absolutely vital."

As well as the aircrew flying the demanding missions, 857's Commanding Officer praised the squadron engineers back on HMS Ocean who worked around the clock ensuring the helicopters were always ready for action. He said:

"They deserve a big pat on the back - they've worked extremely hard and achieved a fantastic serviceability rate."

Air Engineering Officer Lieutenant Mark Roddy said everyone in the squadron was aware of the importance of the missions - and were kept fully up to date with events. He said:

"People were told what we were trying to achieve, and that motivated everyone. The first night of strike operations stands out - seeing the lights on the shore, we could see the tangible results of all the effort that we'd put into that mission. It made a massive difference.

"We set out for seven weeks - and managed to stretch it to four months, maintaining a very high operational tempo. I think we've proven again how versatile these squadrons are."

The squadron is now back at Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose in Cornwall and is due to return to the front line in Afghanistan in due course.

Navy aircraft carrier will be sold after three years - and never carry jets - Telegraph

Navy aircraft carrier will be sold after three years - and never carry jets - Telegraph

Navy aircraft carrier will be sold after three years - and never carry jets

One of the Navy’s new £3 billion aircraft carriers will never carry aircraft and will sail for only three years before being mothballed and possibly sold, ministers will announce on Tuesday.

An artist's impression of the future aircraft Carriers for the Royal Navy, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales

By James Kirkup, Political Correspondent

9:57PM BST 18 Oct 2010

294 Comments

The Government’s Strategic Defence and Security Review will also confirm that Britain will not have an effective “carrier strike” capability – a working aircraft carrier equipped with fighter jets – until 2020.

David Cameron had wanted to scrap one of the two carriers, the largest and most expensive vessels in British naval history, but the review found that contracts signed by the previous government meant that doing so would end up costing the taxpayer more than going ahead with both. As a result, the two carriers will enter service, but one will be mothballed as soon as possible.

Presenting the review to MPs, the Prime Minister will blame many of its outcomes on Labour, accusing its ministers of leaving a £38 billion black hole in the defence budget and signing contracts for over-priced and unnecessary military equipment. He will also announce:

• The replacement for the Trident nuclear deterrent will be delayed by a year until after the general election scheduled for 2015. He will insist he remains committed to renewing Trident but will say the delay is needed to save £750 million.

• The Army will lose 7,000 soldiers, more than 100 tanks and 200 armoured vehicles. One armoured brigade will be lost and the end of Britain’s 65-year presence in Germany will be signalled.

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• The RAF will keep most of its Tornado fighter-bombers but lose at least 5,000 personnel. Two RAF bases will close and be occupied by soldiers returning from Germany.

• The Navy’s fleet of warships will drop from 24 to 19 and it will lose 4,000 personnel. Harrier jump-jets will be scrapped next year but no F35 Joint Strike Fighters will be available to replace them until 2020.

• Special Forces will receive a significant increase in their budget, allowing them to buy sophisticated communications technology and weapons. Recruitment is also likely to rise.

The decision on the new carriers has been at the heart of tense and prolonged Whitehall negotiations over the future of the Armed Forces.

Due to cost almost £6 billion, they were demanded by the Navy but strongly opposed by the Army and by General Sir David Richards, the Chief of the Defence Staff.

The final plan for the carriers was approved by the Cabinet on Monday, at a meeting in which Mr Cameron told ministers that the decisions on the future of the Armed Forces, had been “the hardest thing I have had to deal with” since entering No 10.

On Tuesday, the Prime Minister will outline a timetable under which Britain’s one fully operational aircraft carrier, HMS Ark Royal, is immediately retired. The Navy’s other carrier, HMS Illustrious, will continue to function as a helicopter platform stripped of jets before retiring in 2014.

The first of the new carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth, will enter service in 2016, configured to carry helicopters, not jets. The second new carrier, HMS Prince of Wales, will arrive in 2019. At that point, HMS Queen Elizabeth will be put into “extended readiness”, effectively mothballed indefinitely.

Government sources indicated that the Queen Elizabeth was unlikely to return to service after that, and could well be sold to another country to recoup some of the cost of building it. “There are no plans for it after 2019 and it could well be sold. No one wanted the second carrier but we had no choice,” said one source. “No one is pretending this is an ideal situation, but this is what we were left with.”

A senior defence source added: “This is not a perfect set of circumstances. There is no political benefit for us but it is the right thing for the country. It would have been more expensive to cancel than build the aircraft carrier.”

Further angering Navy chiefs, the defence review will confirm that Harrier jump-jets will be abandoned next year but the RAF’s Tornado will be spared to operate in Afghanistan.

Scrapping the Harriers will create a “capability gap” of nine years, with Britain unable to fly fast jets from an aircraft carrier until 2020, when the new JSF enters service.

Government sources tried to play down the significance of the gap, insisting that Britain had agreements allowing RAF jets to fly from overseas bases in most strategically sensitive parts of the world. But insiders admitted that the situation was “far from perfect”.

Until 2020, Britain is likely to rely heavily on allies with a carrier strike capability, most significantly France.

Mr Cameron will meet President Nicolas Sarkozy next month to discuss expanding Anglo-French military co-operation, with naval collaboration at the top of the agenda.

As The Daily Telegraph disclosed in August, one of the new carriers will be redesigned with a catapult to launch aircraft.

That means that Britain will have to pull out of plans to buy a specially-designed short take-off vertical landing model of the JSF.

Abandoning this model could jeopardise jobs at Rolls-Royce, which was helping build it, and antagonise the US, Britain’s partner in developing the aircraft.

However, the catapult system will allow the Prince of Wales to carry French and US aircraft. It also means that the new carrier will be equipped with the conventional form of the JSF, which the Royal Navy believes is more powerful and cost-effective than the jump-jet.

Navy chiefs were said to be extremely unhappy about the decision to axe the Harrier jump-jets, claiming that ministers had “underestimated the risk” from the move.

Sources raised doubt over the lack of carrier strike capability, questioning whether the RAF would be able to secure airbases for its jets if Britain needed to fight abroad.

“I can’t see Oman happy to have Tornados flying from its territory to bomb Iran,” said a source.

Assembly of new Royal Navy Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers

Equipment and Logistics

News Article

Assembly of new Royal Navy aircraft carriers gets underway in Fife

An Equipment and Logistics news article

21 Sep 11

Preparations for the assembly of the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers got off to a flying start today as Goliath, one of Europe's largest cranes, swung into action under the watchful eye of Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology Peter Luff.

Artist's impression of the Future Carrier
[Picture: Aircraft Carrier Alliance]

The event, held at Babcock's shipyard in Rosyth, marked the official start of the assembly of the first of the two 65,000-tonne vessels - the largest warships ever built for the Royal Navy.

It will be followed by the first major lift in the programme later this week when the first section of the two-deck-high 8,000-tonne centre block, which includes a section of flight deck, will be lifted onto the seven-deck-high 8,000-tonne lower block 03, marking a major milestone in the build of the first of class, HMS Queen Elizabeth.

After touring the dockyard and meeting the workforce, Mr Luff said:

"This is an exciting week for the carrier programme and it is a huge privilege to witness what can only be described as history in the making.

Defence Minister Peter Luff at the controls of crane Goliath as it prepares to lift the first section of one of the Royal Navy's new aircraft carriers into place
[Picture: Mark Owens, Crown Copyright/MOD 2011]

"The job of building these truly formidable carriers is a huge challenge but we are very fortunate to have such a dedicated and skilled workforce who can rise to this challenge and provide the UK with its largest and most powerful aircraft carriers to date."

The vessels are being delivered by the Aircraft Carrier Alliance made up of the MOD, Babcock, BAE Systems and Thales, and, with advanced construction underway at six shipyards across the UK, the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carrier programme is sustaining thousands of skilled jobs throughout industry.

Chief of Defence Materiel, Bernard Gray, said:

"The Queen Elizabeth Class is a hugely important project for MOD and for the UK's shipbuilding industry. I'm very pleased at this impressive progress on the construction and assembly of first of class."

Defence Minister Peter Luff at the controls of crane Goliath as it prepares to lift the first section of one of the Royal Navy's new aircraft carriers into place
[Picture: Mark Owens, Crown Copyright/MOD 2011]

The Queen Elizabeth Class carriers will be the centrepiece of Britain's military capability and will routinely operate 12 of the carrier-variant Joint Strike Fighter jets, allowing for unparalleled interoperability with allied forces.

Each carrier will have nine decks, plus a flight deck the size of three football pitches, and two propellers weighing 33 tonnes - nearly two-and-a-half times as heavy as a double-decker bus - driving the ship at a maximum speed of over 25 knots (46km/h).

The vessels will form the cornerstone of Britain's ability to project military power overseas, and will be used for operations ranging from providing air support in conflict zones to providing humanitarian aid and disaster relief.

Ministry of Defence | Defence News | People In Defence | Second Sea Lord visits HMS Ocean

Second Sea Lord visits HMS Ocean

A People In Defence news article

20 Sep 11

The Second Sea Lord, Vice Admiral Charles Montgomery, has visited HMS Ocean in the Mediterranean, where she has recently been supporting the enforcement of the UN Security Council Resolution to protect Libyan citizens.

HMS Ocean, from the air, with helicopters on deck including US Air Force HH-60, Fleet Air Arm Lynx Mk7, Sea King from 857 Naval Air Squadron, and Apache from 656 Squadron Army Air Corps
[Picture: Leading Airman (Photographer) Guy Pool, Crown Copyright/MOD 2011]

Vice Admiral Montgomery, who holds responsibility on the Navy Board for personnel and training, arrived on board HMS Ocean for a two-day visit in one of the ship's Lynx Mk7 helicopters. He was greeted by the Commander of the United Kingdom Task Group, Commodore John Kingwell, and the Commanding Officer of HMS Ocean, Captain Andrew Betton.

During his time on board, the Vice Admiral was given an insight into the Apache operations that HMS Ocean and her embarked Army Air Corps squadron have been conducting, toured the ship and talked with many members of the ship's company.

And, in a popular move, he made himself available throughout his time on board to answer questions on personnel and training issues, as well as wider defence matters.

Vice Admiral Montgomery meets members of the Marine Engineering Department
[Picture: Crown Copyright/MOD 2011]

After a sustained period conducting missions in support of the NATO operation to protect Libyan citizens, HMS Ocean, the Royal Navy's largest warship, has just returned to sea after completing a hugely successful maintenance period in Souda Bay, Crete.

This essential repair and maintenance programme, supported by military, civilian and Babcock Marine personnel from Devonport Naval Base, sees the ship ready in all respects to return to the coast of Libya to continue in whatever role is necessary to see the job finished.

Captain Betton said:

"I am immensely proud of all of the sailors, soldiers, airmen and marines serving in HMS Ocean. Everybody has worked tirelessly since we sailed in April to contribute to our evolving mission, so having the opportunity to demonstrate our professionalism and brief the Second Sea Lord on this unique ship's capability was an honour."

Vice Admiral Montgomery, visiting Ocean's hangar, gets a chance to meet Air Department personnel
[Picture: Crown Copyright/MOD 2011]

HMS Ocean left the UK in April as part of the UK's Response Force Task Group to conduct a series of pre-planned amphibious exercises in the Mediterranean, known as Cougar 11.

With the escalating events in Libya, the UK Government took the opportunity in May to retask one of the most flexible ships in the Royal Navy's inventory and ordered HMS Ocean to support the enforcement of the UN Security Council Resolution to protect Libyan citizens.

In addition to HMS Ocean, the other Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) ships taking part in this operation currently include the destroyer HMS Liverpool, the mine countermeasures vessel HMS Bangor and the support ship RFA Fort Rosalie.

MUK and French ships rendezvous off Libyan coast

Ministry of Defence | Defence News | Military Operations | UK and French ships rendezvous off Libyan coast

UK and French ships rendezvous off Libyan coast

A Military Operations news article

19 Sep 11

Attack helicopter ships from the British and French navies have met up off the coast of Libya in a practical demonstration of the UK-French Defence Co-operation Treaty.

HMS Ocean (foreground) and Marine nationale's Mistral, off the coast of Libya
[Picture: Crown Copyright/MOD 2011]

HMS Ocean, the Royal Navy's helicopter carrier, and her French counterpart, Mistral, a Marine nationale (French Navy) projection and command ship, are both operating attack helicopters as part of the NATO-led Operation UNIFIED PROTECTOR, enforcing UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1973 to protect Libyan citizens. Mistral recently took over operations from her sister ship Le Tonnerre.

When British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Nicolas Sarkozy signed the Defence Co-operation Treaty in November 2010, it was not expected that the opportunity would present itself quite so quickly to be able to practically demonstrate the two nations' armed forces working more closely together, as a way of improving collective defence capability.

Royal Navy and Marine nationale ships have been involved in operations off Libya since the start of the operation earlier this year.

In particular, there has been close coordination on attack helicopter maritime strike missions, and both HMS Ocean and Mistral have each embedded a liaison officer onboard the other.

There have also been a number of visits between the Command teams in order to further understand how the other operates, further contributing to the aim of having, by the early 2020s, the ability to deploy an integrated British-French carrier strike group, incorporating assets from both countries.

Since having been allocated to the mission in late June 2011, HMS Ocean has had several intensive periods at sea, launching embarked Apache Attack Helicopters from 656 Squadron Army Air Corps into Libya in support of the NATO-led operation.

The Apaches have been ably assisted by other helicopters embarked on HMS Ocean, namely Sea King Mk 7s of 857 Naval Air Squadron, providing maritime surveillance, and Lynx Mk 7s of 847 Naval Air Squadron, providing force protection and logistic support. Together, the Apaches and Sea King Mk7s have flown a significant number of operational sorties.

Since leaving the UK in late April 2011, HMS Ocean has conducted over 2,000 deck landings by both embarked and visiting aircraft. This has included French Pumas flying from the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, as well as both the amphibious ships Le Tonnerre and Mistral.

HMS Ocean left the UK in April 2011 as part of the UK's Response Force Task Group to conduct a series of pre-planned amphibious exercises in the Mediterranean, known as Cougar 11.

With the escalating events in Libya, the UK Government took the opportunity in May 2011 to re-task one of the most flexible ships in the Royal Navy's inventory, and ordered HMS Ocean to support the enforcement of UNSCR 1973.

In addition to HMS Ocean, the other Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships taking part in this operation currently comprise destroyer HMS Liverpool, mine countermeasures vessel HMS Bangor, and support ship RFA Fort Rosalie.

The Co-operation Treaty between the UK and France was drawn up to build upon commitments made in last year's Strategic Defence and Security Review to create stronger strategic defence relationships with our main allies whose security interests and military capabilities are closest to our own.