Fri, 14 December 2012. She retains a very small duty watch and is occasionally used as static damage control and fire-fighting training platform for crews preparing to take over forward-deployed ships. How about replacing the three “remaining” Niteroi-class frigates of Brazilian navy? Iran – ~950 Both the Type 26 and Type 31s that will join the fleet in future are too large for the three dry docks in the FSC. Need a big ego to get to the top but often becomes a major weakness. The Type 23 Frigate was designed to replace the LEANDER Class and Type 21 Frigates. All our frigates are going through lifex refit. This option appears to have been rolled back (at least for the time being) by politicians. Ocean or Illustrious would’ve been perfect due to their size, but unfortunately that options gone. It isn’t an area weapon as Sea Dart was and Sea Viper is. As I said above the site owners think it is a positive. Honest. We are eventually getting a new underwater warfare suite and sensors, but that will be a while. This system will also be migrated onto the Type 26s in future. As a Babcock product, they would probably be in a good position to secure maintenance for the Type 31s, although this may be complicated by the intention to forward-deploy them overseas for long periods. The first Type 26 HMS Glasgow is likely to to be handed to the RN in 2025, commission in 2026 but conduct lengthy first of class acceptance trials before being declared fully operational in 2027. After more than a year in reduced readiness in Devonport, Portland began her LIFEX in February 2018. As I said above I think health and safety is the problem. One giant job creation scheme for the clyde shipyards and nothing about providing the right ship for the RN. If HMS Tamar and Spey are to be deployed on policing duties off Aden, the coast of East Africa or in the Straits of Malaca then they ought to be better armed. I was about to ask about the progress of the LIFEX refits. The surface and above water warfare equipment was upgraded years ago as part of the FELEX program. There’s no anti-ship capability against any SAM equipped vessels where Wildcat would have to enter the engagement envelope of the enemy vessel to launch Martlet. Primarily because the last Type 23 was built 18 years ago, we are at the point now that you are better off setting up build of a new class. Sea Ceptor does have ability to attack crossing targets. Join us now! Well you can`t expect to maintain valuable naval assets when you have got to spend £14 billion on foreign aid! The whole lack of GFE on T31 puzzles me & the transfer of GFE to T26 doesn’t seem ideal. I just feel sad for the individual doing it. It seems to me that this is the reason the RN posited the idea of more firepower for the Batch 2 Rivers. They will have 12 AEGIS ships. Royal Navy Eyes Magazine Torpedo Launch System Upgrade for Type 23 Frigates UK's Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) Underwater Electronic Warfare (UEW) Delivery Team (DT) is considering a "full technical refresh and modernisation" of the Magazine Torpedo Launch System (MTLS) Control System aboard eight Type 23 frigates in the Royal Navy fleet. Unless otherwise credited, images used under Open Government License. Sea Wolf only protected own ship or other ship by masking it if possible. information? If you had 2 command guidances i think you could send it towards two different targets but that is it. For the record, I don’t disagree with anything you’ve said, but its important to consider WHY the Blair government (Brown came in after the QEC was planned for and designed, he just signed off on it) went for such big carriers at the expense of the surface and submarine fleets. He is probably a lonely and tortured soul. RN cannot man all the 5 T23s when they come back to the front line fleet. As to the detail of what these are and what will be included in GFE I have no idea, and would be grateful for any detail on this. Any engineering process is a hard work, finding many “un-known un-konws” in the process, and will get easier in the later phase because of learning curve. Assuming that the frigates are very unlikely to be run-on beyond their planned out of service dates, it becomes apparent that the expense of upgrading the engines of 3 more vessels is questionable value for money. That’s why the bigger design won. The upgrade … Richmond could possibly get Type 2150 at a later date. Somerset began preparing for LIFEX refit in November 2018 but only recently entered the FRC and will be out of action until sometime in 2020. I have up voted them. I don’t think it is viable to refit Monmouth. These ships being smaller probably do not give us much savings on a one-for-one basis as cutting Albion and Bulwark (plus marines), so it is highly likely that more than two ships will go (perhaps a combination of all three). Maybe Iron Duke or Monmouth then. She plays a key role in protecting our nation’s interests, from policing vital trade routes to supporting humanitarian aid missions. But I don’t think it will be. I predict you will be proved wrong, lets wait and see shall we. I see the Downvoter is up early tonight. Also noted that Dauntless is being moved back into 3 basin at Portsmouth tomorrow which should be good news. F237 HMS Westminster surface and low level air search radar Type 997 Type 23 Mid Life Upgrade: refit at HMD Portsmouth (15 Dock), including new Command Systems and Artisan 3D radar fit, by BAE Systems. I’d be surprised is Wolf really is better than Ceptor. Lockheed Martin was selected as prime contractor […] There maybe a few Type 2150 sonars available from 2028 onwards with retirement of T23 (starting with HMS Westminister OSD 2028). I was talking to someone who serverd on her and she told me the ship was falling to bit and on at least one occasion broke down for several hours. My interest and working with them at sea over the years make these ships the best ever I have encountered they are no SKODA unless Jaguar have taken the over. RN recruitment is buoyant and the pandemic has reduced voluntary outflow for a while, but the ‘pinch points’, particularly the lack of experienced engineers and skilled trades cannot be quickly resolved. Type 23 Frigate Sea Ceptor Upgrade Scale - 1/350th. She is due to be floated out of the FRC in mid-February 2019. T26 batch 2 will get ordered when there is some certainty in long-term funding (which is a tad tricky at the minute). The lifex refits are extensive, and in a number of cases have added a good few years to these ships when you bear in mind how many days are actually spent at sea. The Chilean Navy has selected Lockheed Martin Canada to upgrade combat management systems on its Type 23 frigates. I can’t comment on the break downs, although it had just completed a very expensive refit before the sale. In the eyes of Admirals of many navies, minesweeping is a task that is not “sexy” or prestigious. The type 31 can still go with a carrier strike group though…. I don’t think history will ultimately judge UK/US arms sales to this despotic family in good light. Type 23 Frigate helicopters The first 100 were delivered in June 2006. But, pricisely speaking, I am NOT suggesting to “reduce” the escort feet from 19 to 17. They of course won’t be much good as actual escorts deploying with the carrier-group but they’ll be perfectly suitable in The Gulf, on anti-piracy ops in The Indian Ocean or conducting surveillance/patrol duties in The Med working with other NATO assigned units. This valuable covered facility owned by Babcock has 3 dry docks and is instrumental in completing the frigate upgrades at a steady pace. Size really matters in planning life extensions. Given the amount of Sea Ceptor cells needed to refit the T23’s there shouldn’t be any issue finding 24-32 for each of the T31’s as well which is why i find the designs showing just 12 a bit strange! A £600million project to refit and extend the life of Britain’s fleet of Type 23 frigates has reached a crucial stage with five ships being worked on at one time at Plymouth’s Devonport Dockyard. Fitting it with electric drive, wider hull etc might have been a good way forward for the type 31 competion and export, rather than the pathetic offering they came up with. She sailed from Devonport in October 2018 and will away from the UK for 3 years based in Bahrain. She spent around 5 weeks conducting scheduled mid-deployment maintenance in Singapore in November 2018. Perhaps a Saudi equivalent of Ruhollah Khomeini will come knocking in the next decade. She is scheduled to be handed back to the RN in July, although the work is behind schedule. It is possible that they could erect blocks in one of the docks, but it doesn’t get round the issue of covered space to erect and outfit units and blocks if there are T31 ongoing concurrently. The ships are taken in hand at the Frigate Refit Complex (FRC) in Devonport Dockyard. HMS Somerset (Age 24) All walkarounds » (9 in total) News Feed. We need another TOBA for Babcock FSC? One of the main reasons a lot of the older ships had to go was getting them up to decent battle resistance standards. So down voting Not A Boffin, a naval architect with vast experience of the UK defence sector, whose post only contained information is a positive. Perhaps box launched Sea Spear or Sea Venom (so as not to introduce a whole new missile type) would suffice to be able to threaten an opponent a bloody nose rather than providing a heavyweight ship killer capability. Although the failure to begin constructing their replacements sooner is indefensible, the £600M Type 23 LIFEX programme represents relatively good value. So as I said, good size motor boat. Type 23 frigate HMS Portland left Babcock’s Rosyth dockyard today, Thursday 13 December, to return to her base port of Plymouth at peak effectiveness following significant upgrades and improvements, after successful completion of a substantial upgrade and maintenance programme. Type 23 was designed for a 20 year life as well. This would be a sure way to up hull numbers with minimal cost while freeing up the new Type 31s and Type 26s on Carrier strike and other gobal duties. Which would be fine if the T31 was supplementing frigates but they’re not; they are replacing them. And carry out duties a billion pound destroyer and frigates don’t need to do. Wonder if an envisaged QEC battle group fight and win in these circumstances, with the numbers and kit they have. And the Russians would easily already have it considering the number of typhoons in Europe and Russians are mainly European…. It just looks like fact aren’t accurate which does the site’s cause a lot, not. If Bristol lasts another 15 years, then by 2034 HMS Daring will be around 28 and perfect for the role. Had either program been procured faster then £600M would have been saved. Her refit employed 350 Babcock staff working a total of 1 million man-hours. within 3-400 yards of the HVU). 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