Tag Archives: Trafalgar-class

Nelson weeps

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The Royal Navy has been on a steady decline since 1945, and while they do have a (limited) carrier deployment to the Far East currently-– including the first visit by a British flattop to Australia in over 25 years– everything else seems to be slipping to pay for it.

These tidbits:

HMS Lancaster (F229), a Type 23 (Duke-class) frigate, is reportedly leaving HMS Juffair in Bahrain without replacement, leaving RN forces in the region with only the aging minesweepers HMS Middleton (M34) and HMS Bangor. Lancaster has been forward deployed to the Persian Gulf since August 2022 through crew rotations and has accomplished a myriad of boarding and counter-smuggling operations in the region. There are only eight Type 23s in RN service, all of them with over 20 years of hard use on their hulls.

Five sisters have been retired.

While the days of the old Armilla patrol during the Cold War have long passed, the RN has kept a frigate in the region as part of Operation Kipion since at least 2018. Once the Type 26 Global Combat Ship and the Type 31 frigate start coming into service in 2028 (hold your breath), there may not be another British surface combatant deployed to HMS Juffair for a few years.

The only other escorts in the RN are the fleet’s six precious Type 45 (Daring) class DDGs, which are chained to their carriers.

The last of seven Trafalgar-class nuclear-powered submarines, HMS Triumph (S93), decommissioned at HMNB Devonport on 18 July 2025, wrapping up a 33-year career. She was a certified TLAM slinger in Afghanistan in 2001 and also chipped in on combat operations off Libya in 2011, coming back flying her second Jolly Roger.

Royal Navy Trafalgar Class submarine HMS Triumph is silhouetted against the Middle Eastern sun, 2012. Photo: LA(Phot) Abbie Gadd/MOD

In further HM Submarine Force blues, all six of the Admiralty’s Astute-class SSNs are offline with the recent return of HMS Anson (S123) to the Clyde last week.

  • HMS Astute is just about to begin a mid-life refit in Devonport.
  • HMS Audacious in dry dock in Devonport.
  • HMS Ambush has been in Faslane and not put to sea for 3 years.
  • HMS Artful is also in Faslane, having not put to sea in more than 2 years, although it seems likely she will begin to regenerate and return to operations soon.
  • Boat 6, HMS Agamemnon, is afloat in the test and commissioning dock at Barrow and is expected to commission later this year in the shipyard, but is unlikely to be fully operational for at least 18 months after that.

The Admiralty has gone on record as wanting a full dozen AUKUS SSNs, but that is more of a 2030s goal.

Finally, with the RN having virtually no serious amphibious warfare assets any longer, having sold it all to Brazil, the 28,000-ton “Littoral strike ship” RFA Argus (A135), currently under a stalled refit, has been deemed “unsafe to sail” by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and Lloyds Register.

RFA Argus (A135), seen in better days

Navy Lookout said Argus had its safety certification “withdrawn” due to a series of “unresolved issues”. These reportedly include problems with fire doors, a persistent leak from the ballast tank, and a worn seal on the main aircraft lift.

“It is planned that Argus will start a major Life Extension refit next year after the MoD decided that she will remain in service beyond 2030 (by which time she will be 50 years old).”

It’s That Time of Year Again! ICEEX 2022 Is Here

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ICEEX 2022 has begun in the Arctic Ocean on Friday, 4 March after the building of Ice Camp Queenfish and the arrival of two U.S. Navy fast-attack submarines, the aging (awarded in 1982!) Cold Warrior that is the Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Pasadena (SSN 752) and the much more modern Virginia-class attack submarine USS Illinois (SSN 786).

Welcome to the Order of the Blue Nose!

BEAUFORT SEA, Arctic Circle (March 5, 2022) – Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Pasadena (SSN 752) surfaces in the Beaufort Sea, kicking off Ice Exercise (ICEX) 2022. ICEX 2022 is a three-week exercise that allows the Navy to assess its operational readiness in the Arctic, increase experience in the region, advance understanding of the Arctic environment, and continue to develop relationships with other services, allies, and partner organizations. (U.S. Navy photo by Mike Demello/Released)

BEAUFORT SEA, Arctic Circle – Virginia-class attack submarine USS Illinois (SSN 786) surfaces in the Beaufort Sea March 5, 2022, kicking off Ice Exercise (ICEX) 2022. ICEX 2022 is a three-week exercise that allows the Navy to assess its operational readiness in the Arctic, increase experience in the region, advance understanding of the Arctic environment, and continue to develop relationships with other services, allies, and partner organizations. (U.S. Navy photo 220305-N-ON977-1158 by Mike Demello/Released)

More here.

Lots of cold bubbleheads this month

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Scheduled to last five weeks, ICEX 2018 has kicked off with a joint NATO effort to show readiness in the Arctic.

The Navy’s Arctic Submarine Laboratory (ASL) and the Canadian Defence Forces have set up Ice Camp Skate on a floe drifting in the Arctic Ocean.

“The base will serve as a temporary base for submarine operations, including under-ice navigation and torpedo exercises. The camp consists of shelters, a command center and infrastructure to safely house and support more than 50 personnel at any one time.”

Ice Camp Skate (March 5, 2018) A Royal Canadian DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft delivering supplies and personnel flies over Ice Camp Skate during camp build during Ice Exercise (ICEX) 2018. ICEX 2018 is a five-week exercise that allows the Navy to assess its operational readiness in the Arctic, increase experience in the region, advance understanding of the Arctic environment, and continue to develop relationships with other services, allies and partner organizations. (U.S. Navy photo by Airman 1st Class Kelly Willett/Released)

“With every ICEX we are able to build upon our existing experience and continue to learn the best way to operate in this unique and harsh environment,” said Rear Adm. James Pitts, commander, Undersea Warfighting Development Center (UWDC). “We are constantly testing new tactics, techniques and procedures (TTP) under the ice, and this exercise allows us to do so on a larger scale and alongside our U.K., joint and academic partners.”

USS Hartford (SSN 768) surfaces in the Arctic Circle near Ice Camp Sargo during Ice Exercise (ICEX) 2016. She will make a return to the ice this year, along with some company

Three submarines– Seawolf-class fast attack submarine USS Connecticut (SSN 22) from Bangor, Wash., the Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine USS Hartford (SSN 768) from Groton, Conn., and the Royal Navy Trafalgar-class submarine HMS Trenchant (S91)— will conduct multiple arctic transits, a North Pole surfacing, scientific data collection and other training evolutions during their time in the region.

The floating ice station also conducts oceanography experiments, as shown below with personnel from NAL, University of Alaska Fairbanks and Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation (UIC) Science collecting data through the floe.