Royal Navy hunter killer nuclear submarine - HMS Torbay (S90) ready for sea after refit

The Royal Navy nuclear-powered hunter killer submarine HMS Torbay has emerged from refit at Plymouth at the cutting edge of war-fighting and surveillance capability.

The Trafalgar Class submarine has been in a revalidated assisted maintenance period (RAMP) which has seen it upgraded and the nuclear power plant given a new lease of life.

http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/News-and-Events/Latest-News/2014/March/26/140326-Torbay-ready-after-refit

GROUP PHOTO OF HMS TORBAY CREW

UK Warship -HMS Argyll Fires Dummy Torpedo Into Nuclear Naval Base

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Argyll_(F231)

HMS Argyll

A British warship accidentally launched an inert torpedo during a training exercise on Wednesday, sending a dummy weapon crashing into a wharf at a naval base in southern England used by nuclear submarines.The Ministry of Defense (MoD) said an investigation was under way into the incident, which occurred at Devonport naval base in the city of Plymouth on Britain's south coast, the largest such facility in Western Europe.

"We can confirm an incident occurred onboard HMS Argyll, while alongside at Devonport Naval Base," an MoD spokesman said. "During a training exercise, an inert Test Variant Torpedo unexpectedly jettisoned onto the wharf. There was no explosion and no casualties."

Devonport, a sprawling 2.6 million sq meter site, is used by Britain's nuclear submarine fleet as well as hosting training facilities and the country's assault fleet. The MoD did not comment when asked whether any nuclear submarines were present at the time of the incident.

UK's J+S Limited to Supply Integrated TLS for New Royal Thailand Navy’s Frigate

http://www.jands.co.uk/files/Deck%20Mounted%20Torpedo%20Launch%20System.pdf

UK's J+S Ltd has been selected by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) as the suppliers of an integrated Torpedo Launcher System (TLS) for the New Royal Thailand Navy’s Frigate.The contract was agreed upon in December 2013. The system will integrate with the ship’s Combat Management System (CMS) and Gyro compass.

The J+S Ltd TLS is designed to fire a range of Mk44 and Mk46 torpedoes and has the capability to be modified to fire the latest Mk54 torpedo.Delivery will commence in March 2016 to DSME for installation on the new Frigate. Set-to-Work (STW) and Harbour Acceptance Trials (HAT) will follow leading to Sea Acceptance Trials (SAT) in 2017.

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http://www.jands.co.uk/news/js-ltd-receive-award-dsme-supply-integrated-torpedo-launcher-system-new-royal-thailand-navy-fri

UK Ministry of Defence amasses £4BILLION fleet of 657 military drones for use in deadly warzones

It includes 10 Reaper MQ-9s, which are armed with Hellfire ­missiles plus laser-guided 500lb bombs and can hover 20,000ft above targets for more than 20 hours. Britain has amassed a force of 657 military drones, the Sunday People can reveal.The £4billion fleet of unmanned ­aircraft built to probe deep into the deadliest warzones is one of the largest in the world.

And they include 10 Reaper MQ-9s, which are armed with Hellfire ­missiles plus laser-guided 500lb bombs and can hover 20,000ft above targets for more than 20 hours.Drones have been blamed for a series of civilian deaths in Afghanistan in recent years – but top brass claim they have also saved the lives of scores of British troops lives by killing hundreds of Taliban insurgents.

The Afghanistan Reapers are ­piloted by a two-man crew sitting 3,500 miles away at RAF Waddington, Lincs.But most drones aren’t armed – they just spy or fly recce missions.A Freedom of Information request found the biggest number of UK drones are the 324 Black Hornet Nano micro-helicopters, ­only four inches long and an inch wide (100x25mm). They fly over insurgent ­strongholds to film and take pictures.

Then there are 222 Desert Hawks, plastic spy-drones with a 4ft 3in ­wingspan (1.3m). David Cameron held one on a visit to Afghanistan last June.For tougher operations, 54 Watchkeepers can stay aloft for 17 hours.Nine more are due in service soon to ­replace ­ageing Hermes 450s. By ­contrast 30 Tarantula Hawks weigh just 20lbs apiece and are used as recce aides by bomb-disposal teams in Afghanistan.

Lastly there are eight ScanEagles, a specialist drone being used in the ­campaign against Somali pirates.Drones are likely to make up a third of all RAF working aircraft by 2030 but human rights groups fear they could be used to spy on the innocent public. The MoD declined to comment.