Since the UK doesn't have a full Marine Corps anymore, only Commandoes/Special Forces, is there any mission where you'd need more than ~350 Commandoes?
Perhaps the range can reach that level
Not much point having an LHD with the island hangar, even on the fatter KM concept image it doesn't look wide enough for 2 Merlin hence limiting to 1 where a wider hangar could take 4 helicopters. Drones that can be operated from the side alcoves won't be large enough to work alongside Merlin at its range limit as something like Proteus is likely to need a conventional hangar.
Quite. Especially when Merlin is entering its final decade of life and we don't yet know the footprint of the eventual NGRC replacement, which is quite likely to be larger if they do procure a tiltrotor - although of course the QEs do have a Commando airlift capability.
I'll take a tenner of anyone's money, if we buy more than the 72 already contracted for including the 12 A's.
Someone should probably tell the Israelis, then, given they've made decent use of the platform.
Yeah, something along those lines would be useful. Fitting them with NS110 would give them a decent sensor picture, as well.
If you read it, limited capability is available 44% of the time or roughly (44, 46 I forget the precise number) so. Which means for certain 'dumb' tasks in a benign environment, good enough will do.
Looks like this will be closer in size to the 14,000t BPC 140 design (i.e. shrunk Mistral), which existed in 2 versions.
That looks pretty good- I assume all combinations of island and lift were possible?
There are pros and cons to each arrangement. Putting the hangar in front of the well deck creates a very large floodable space not far above the waterline... not ideal from a survivability perspective. Also clear segregation of operations and accommodations spaces on different levels and fore/aft is helpful... e.g. easier to handle aviation in a separate hangar above your vehicles and landing craft, easier to accommodate all personnel forward etc.
That's really great news, Belfast will have their work cut out as no other yard can hope to build 8 15kt ships by the end of the 2030s. Hopefully in a few years' time we get a view of 4 ATS in build at once in the big dry dock!
Not Pollard calling them CIC (and not knowing the acronym) after renaming them JCC in the release of the joint plan with Norway...
They're fast buggers as well, their website says 67 knots.
They are indeed, would edge out the Skjold class as the fastest operational military surface vessels, though the SES-100B would still hold the crown for fastest SES at 96 (!) knots.
That's why the flexible deck would be higher than is usual for a vehicle deck, as a hybrid between a hangar deck and vehicle deck with a longer and higher ramp up from the well dock. The space would be no longer than the lower vehicle decks of most amphibious ships; the Wasp class have nearly half of their length taken up by the well deck alone, well over 2/3 with the vehicle deck.
As they are smaller than most other vessels I think the priority for ATS should be to be able to commit the entire vessel to its current role and be optimised for the ability to reconfigure. A single flexible deck is the best way of doing that as it maximises the space available for any one capability while still allowing a split between several, with the flight deck interface at one end and the water at the other.
https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/mod-buys-finnart-oil-terminal-to-boost-navy-fuel-reserves/ said:
That should absolutely have been called StormCrow.
