<-- Back to Military

The Royal Navy in 2057

by Paul J. Adam (paul@jrwlynch.demon.co.uk)

The Royal Navy has risen to become, in funding terms, the most senior of Britain’s armed forces, with the RAF in second place: the Army has been relegated to third place, as its numbers have been reduced sharply, though its remaining units are among the best in the world.

The Navy’s pre-eminence reflects the simple fact that commerce rules the world, and goods move by sea. The Royal Navy maintains Britain’s position against the corporations by being able to interdict the flow of their products. Its other role, that of defending against national enemies, remains equally important, the reintroduction of conventional submarines due almost entirely to increased tensions within Europe: the A-boats have proved very valuable for operations in the Mediterranean and Baltic.

History

Plagued by drawdowns in the later years of the 20th century, the British armed forces found themselves being asked to do more and more with less and less. Matters approached crisis during the VITAS epidemic and the ecological crises of 2010-2011, when the overstretched forces - made increasingly reliant on “civilian contractors” and other cost-cutting measures - were simply unable to cope when sent in to assist, as essential support structures gave way: Royal Engineers sent for disaster control found their equipment failing, and the civilian support meant to maintain it nonexistent. The Defence White Paper of 2013 was one of the few documents of its type to realistically examine the roles: there’s nothing like disaster to focus the mind.

Army

The Army was cut back sharply - the basic unit of a ‘regiment’ became the company rather than the battalions, preserving many historic names - and many support functions returned to the Forces, the intent being to reduce the Army’s size considerably while increasing the ability of units to operate in the field. The reduced force structure later proved a most wise move, as cost-per-trooper of modern equipment - particularly cybernetics - snowballed.

Hard decisions were made in equipment procurement. The Army maintained only a part of its heavy tanks: these behemoths, while deadly, were too heavy and required too much infrastructure to be moved rapidly to any troublespot. After much heartsearching, lobbying and internal angst, the Saeder-Krupp Panther was chosen to replace the Challenger III, the cost of maintaining an all-British MBT design capability being too great for the small force of vehicles required. Similar drawdowns occurred in other fields, where worldwide competition was judged too stiff and markets too small for an independent, government-subsidised capability to be necessary or successful. Other capabilities - most notably underwater defence - were judged too essential to lose, explaining the rise of IWS, the prime contractor to the UK military, and Underwater Dynamics, probably the world leader in undersea sensor and armament technology.

The essence of the Army’s restructuring was an unprecedented drawdown in active combatant numbers, yet the actual force level hardly changed: the teeth-to-tail ratio decreased markedly, as the arms switched to a two-tier system: a front-line of combatants, and a second-line of supporting troops, all within a single unit (previously, armoured units had required attached REME LADs for even basic maintenance work, and there had never been enough REME). Though there were fewer weapons, those that remained were newer, their crews trained more often, and their ammunition and spares inventories much higher.

The end result was an Army of under 70,000, compared to the 120,000 of the end of the 20th century, its combatant arms including 63 infantry companies (all airmobile or mechanised), fourteen armoured squadrons (six heavy with Panthers, eight light with Cavaliers), 24 artillery batteries, nine air defence companies, and twenty-three engineer companies.

Frontline soldiers are highly trained and frequently cybered, and supported by well-trained backup: the support units are less expensively equipped, but frequently no less skilled, since a support unit that is too easily wiped out by a surprise attack is no use to anyone (a lesson of the civil disorders of 2011). In the Euro Wars, the small British expeditionary force in the Netherlands soon earned the nickname “New Model Army”, most notably at Venlo, when the encircled Green Jackets and the King’s Own Scottish Borderers, supported by the tanks of the Blues and Royals - a total of six hundred troops and a dozen light tanks, supplied only by air - held off a full division of the Russian 3 Shock Army for six days, before an Anglo-Dutch force relieved the exhausted defenders.

Today, the British Army remains active around the world, though to a lesser extent than previously: British troops train in the UCAS, in CAS and in Tir Taingire, and garrison a few isolated remnants around the globe: Gibraltar, Diego Garcia, the Falkland Islands, for instance, which give Britain the forward toeholds needed to operate her forces wherever she wants.

Royal Air Force

…haven’t written this part yet… :)

Royal Navy

For many years, the Navy had been seen both as weakening, and inefficient in some ways: the discovery that by the 1990s the RN had more admirals than warships was seen as typical, rather than a scandal. The VITAS epidemic and the 2013 White Paper solved many problems, wiping out a quarter of the population and slimming down the ranks of the military bureaucracies: the simple expedient of freezing recruitment meant that considerable numbers of posts were able to be eliminated, as obsolete posts and artificial divisions from the days of the thousand-ship Fleet were wiped away by necessity.

The other sea change was the increasing tension within Europe and overseas, as many of the Navy’s ships approached the end of their lives. In 2016, for the first time in thirty-nine years, the Royal Navy had a full-deck carriers again, HMS Furious replacing the venerable Invincible. Her two sisters, Glorious and Eagle, gave the Navy the ability to project effective airpower anywhere in the world. The carriers needed escorts, and for the first time in generations the number of destroyers and frigates in the Fleet increased.

When Britain joined the Euro-Wars, the Royal Navy was heavily engaged, seeing action in the Baltic and fighting several major battles in the Norwegian Sea as Russian forces moved on Scandinavia. Losses were heavy at times, five submarines being sunk and nearly a dozen warships and auxiliaries, but the Russian Northern and Baltic fleets were almost obliterated and the Royal Navy gained a number of new battle honours.

Emerging from the war battered but with its reputation enhanced, the Royal Navy was assured of funding for replacements, though the size of the fleet slipped a little as costs per ship continued to rise: only two carriers are replacing the three “Furious” carriers, though “Eagle” will remain in service until she is no longer economic to run. The other change was the increase in the submarine fleet, and the reintroduction of the smaller conventional submarine for European operations: though the nuclear submarine remains the premier method of worldwide covert force projection.

3 SSBNs (Fleet Ballistic Missile Submarines)	Broadsword, Brave, Brilliant
Displacement:	12 700 tons
Machinery:	1 PWR-3 pressurised water reactor, steam turbines: 47 000shp. 2 Paxman Gibraltar auxiliary diesels: 4 500bhp each.
Speed, knots:	20+
Complement:	121 (14 officers)
Missiles:	20 Naval Ordnance Laboratories Hades C-3 ICBMs
Torpedoes:	4 533mm tubes. UD Orca, 20 weapons.
Mines:	Can be carried in lieu of torpedoes.
Modernisation:	Though the hulls are becoming elderly, these submarines were designed both for regular updates and for a long service life, since their mission is to hide rather than to fight.
Structure:	Maximum diving depth in excess of 400 metres. Pump jet propulsor.
Operation:	One submarine is at sea at all times. Operate with dual (“Blue” and “Gold”) crews. All three are based at Faslane.

6 ‘C’ Class SSNs	Campbeltown, Centaur, Conqueror, Cutlass, Charybdis, Centurion
Displacement:	5 700 tons
Machinery:	1 PWR-3 pressurised water reactor, steam turbines: 47 000shp. 2 Paxman Gibraltar auxiliary diesels: 4 500bhp each.
Speed, knots:	32+ submerged.
Complement:	78 (12 officers)
Missiles:	S-K Sea Shark, 12 vertical tubes. Additional missiles can displace torpedoes.
Torpedoes:	6 533mm tubes. UD Orca, 32 weapons.
Mines:	Can displace torpedoes.
Modernisation:	Rolling refit programme to upgrade sonar suite to ‘D’ boat standard.
Structure:	Maximum diving depth in excess of 500 metres. First RN nuclear submarines to abandon bow sonar in favour of conformal hull arrays and a reelable towed sonar array.
Operation:	Launched through the 2030s and replacing the ‘T’ and ‘W’ boats, the six C-class submarines marked the first truly new nuclear submarine design since the 1970s. While the technology was merely an increment on previous submarines, their predecessors’ designs had represented the evolution of the ‘Swiftsure’ design - by then sixty years old - and had little room for improvement. The C-boats were designed on a ‘clean slate’ basis, and are well- regarded by most, though early teething problems kept Campbeltown out of combat during the Euro-Wars.

6 ‘D’ Class SSNs	Daring, Dauntless, Dragon, Defiant (building), Duke of York(building), Dreadnought (building)
Displacement:	5 900 tons
Machinery:	1 PWR-4 pressurised water reactor, steam turbines: 49 000shp. 2 Paxman Ascension
auxiliary diesels:	5 100bhp each.
Speed, knots:	30+ submerged.
Complement:	70 (12 officers)
Missiles:	S-K Sea Shark, 12 vertical tubes. Additional missiles can displace torpedoes.
Torpedoes:	6 533mm tubes. UD Orca, 32 weapons.
Mines:	Can displace torpedoes.
Programmes:	Six hulls are committed to. Debate is continuing on whether a further flight of three ‘D’ boats should be built, or a follow-on class pursued.
Structure:	Maximum diving depth 500+ metres. Shrouded pump jet propulsor.
Operation:	An evolution of the ‘C’ class, updating the fire- control and sensors and taking advantage of improvements in silencing techniques, while drawing on lessons learned during the C-boats’ early troubles. The D-class are among the best SSNs in the world. Completion of the last three is being slightly accelerated after the early retirements of “Warspite” and “Wolverine” due to hull life problems.

8 SSKs	Alacrity, Ambuscade, Avenger, Arrow, Anson, Amethyst, Atlantis, Atlas
Displacement:	2 700 tons
Machinery:	4 Paxman Gibraltar diesels: 4 500bhp each. 1 Kockums Stirling-cycle generator, 750kW. 1 GEC main motor, 17 000shp.
Speed, knots:	22+ submerged, 15 surfaced, 6 knots sustained on Stirling propulsion.
Complement:	38 (9 officers). Accomodation for 12-18 ‘riders’.
Missiles:	S-K Sea Shark, can displace torpedoes 1-for-1.
Torpedoes:	6 533mm tubes. UD Orca, 24 weapons.
Mines:	Can displace torpedoes. External carriage for up to 48 mines can be fitted.
Modernisation:	None currently planned due to age and pending replacement. Regularly updated through their service lives.
Structure:	Maximum diving depth 350 metres. Toroidal hull construction for liquid oxygen storage.
Operation:	Submerged endurance on patrol station, 240 hours at 3 knots. Range 12 000nm at 12 knots. Stores for 60 days’ endurance. Smaller, shorter-ranged and cheaper than their nuclear sisters, the “A-boats” have acquired an enviable reputation for stealth and reliability, being widely exported. Though they are becoming elderly (the first of their replacements, HMS Excalibur, is under construction, and Alacrity will pay off when she is launched) the A-boats remain popular and highly regarded, both by their crews and by others. Ten were built, but two (Archer and Antelope) were lost during the Euro-Wars.

2 Fleet Carriers	Ark Royal, Illustrious (building)
Displacement:	45 000 tons
Machinery:	4 boilers, 4 Parsons geared turbines, 4 shafts, 140 000shp.
Speed, knots:	30
Complement:	1 850 (air wing 720)
Missiles:	IWS Sea Hawk, 48 missiles. GD Lance, 3 mounts.
Guns:	4 Bofors SKL-57 mounts. 3 Transys-Neuronet MR-4 laser defence systems.
Aircraft:	48 IWS Hurricane FGS.2, 4 Federated-Boeing Guardian AEW.4, 8 F-B Guardian MRK.3, 8 Westland Aerospace Kestrel HAS.5 Structure: Flight deck angled at 15 degrees. Four steam catapults, three elevators. The design is a slightly enlarged “Furious”, though using improvements in technology to reduce the complement.
Programmes:	Some heart-searching accompanied the decision to build only two carriers to replace the three ageing “Furious” class vessels, but designed-in reliability improvements mean that the carriers should need less time in port for refit and repair, meaning one will be available at all times.
Operation:	Ark Royal completed sea trials in mid-2057 and was accepted by the fleet, Glorious retiring immediately she joined.

1 Fleet Carrier	Eagle
Displacement:	40 000 tons.
Machinery:	4 boilers, 4 Parsons geared turbines, 2 shafts, 120 000shp.
Speed, knots:	29
Complement:	2 210 (air wing 680)
Missiles:	GD Lance, 4 mounts.
Guns:	4 Signaal Goalkeeper.
Aircraft:	40 IWS Hurricane FGS.2, 3 Federated-Boeing Guardian AEW.4, 6 F-B Guardian MRK.3, 10 Westland Aerospace Kestrel HAS.5 Programmes: The last of the Furious-class, HMS Eagle is expected to remain in service until “she is no longer economic to run”. This is expected to be about five to eight years after she completes her current overhaul.
Modernisation:	To recieve a considerable boost to her point- defence capabilites during her current refit, including laser point defences.
Structure:	Flight deck angled at 15 degrees. Said to be an excellent seakeeper. Four steam catapults, three elevators.
Operation:	Carries aviation fuel for 21 days of full-tempo flight operations.

2 Amphibious Landing Ships	Albion, Hermes
Displacement:	21 000 tons
Machinery:	4 Rolls-Royce Zeus gas turbines, 90 000 shp. 2 shafts.
Speed, knots:	24
Complement:	270 (21 officers). Embarks 420 troops.
Missiles:	GD Lance, 2 mounts.
Guns:	Signaal Goalkeeper, 2 mounts. 2 S-K IKAL-27 Aircraft: 16 helicopters, typically 12 Kestrel transports and four Coyote scout/attack helicopters.
Modernisation:	Improved defensive systems (including Lance) added at first refit in 2051.
Structure:	Floodable well deck aft. Carries four BHC Striker hovercraft (each nominally embarking 40 troops, 1 Cavalier AFV, or 15-20 tons cargo).
Operation:	Typically carry a combined-arms battalion (2 companies infantry, 1 company light armour, 1 battery artillery). Long endurance. Hermes hosted a UCASMC Eagle fighter detachment in 2054, demonstrating the class’ ability to operate VTOL aircraft if necessary: no plans for the RN to do so have been announced.

8 County Class Destroyers	Devonshire, Glamorgan, Norfolk, Kent(not modernised), Hampshire, Surrey (not modernised), London (not modernised), Fife (not modernised)
Displacement:	6 250 tons
Machinery:	4 Rolls-Royce Zeus gas turbines, 90 000shp. 2 shafts.
Speed, knots:	32
Complement:	140
Missiles:	(Modernised): 64 vertical silos for Sea Comet, Sea Meteor, Sea Shark, Talon, Sea Hawk. 2 19-tube launchers for GD Lance SAM. (Unmodernised) 1 twin-arm GWS.44 launcher for 44 Sea Meteor.
Torpedoes:	Magazine Torpedo Launch System, 4 324mm tubes for Underwater Dynamics Manta.
Guns:	1 Vickers Mark 8 114mm gun. 2 Saeder-Krupp IKAL-27. 1 Signaal Goalkeeper (only in unmodernised ships).
Aircraft:	1 Westland Aerospace Coyote.
Modernisation:	Four ships modernised between 2053 and 2055 as delays in the Sea Comet project, and delays with the “Tiger” class’s combat system, became apparent. GWS.44 launcher replaced by 64-cell VLS system, combat system updated with a COTS system from Renraku, and two Lance launchers replace Goalkeeper.
Structure:	Exceptionally robust ships with proven damage tolerance. Fitted with stabilisers.
Operation:	Though rather aged, the County-class destroyers were for many years the mainstay of the Royal Navy’s area air defence force: HMS Antrim is laid up for preservation as a museum ship, famous for her and her crew’s valiant action off Lofoten where, alone, she fought the Russian cruiser Kiev, forcing her to retreat with damage and sinking two of her escorting frigates. The exceptional toughness of these ships (Antrim acquired the nickname ‘Pepperpot’ previously held by HMS Penelope, from the scale of damage she survived) led to many design lessons being included in the “Battles” and “Tigers”. Several of the class have been extensively modernised, due to delays with the “Tigers” intended to replace them: unmodernised vessels are still capable, though without the newer defences they are vulnerable to the new generation of antiship missiles. The main weakness of these ships is their limited ASW capability. Kent is Portsmouth training ship, Surrey same for Devonport.

12 “Tiger” class Destroyers	Tiger, Jaguar, Wolf, Leopard, Lynx, Fox, Lion, Ocelot, Cheetah (building), Bear (building), Panther (building), Mongoose (building)
Displacement:	7 900 tons
Machinery:	4 Rolls-Royce Zeus turbines: 90 000shp. Two shafts.
Speed, knots:	30
Complement:	154
Missiles:	2 49-cell VLS units for Sea Comet, Sea Meteor, Sea Shark, Talon, Sea Hawk. 2 19-tube launchers for GD Lance SAM.
Torpedoes:	Magazine Torpedo Launch System, 4 324mm tubes for Underwater Dynamics Manta.
Guns:	2 IWS 155mm guns. 2 S-K IKAL-27, 1 Transys-Neuronet MR-4 laser
Mines:	Mine rails fitted, stowage for 60 Starfish or 40 Man-o-War.
Aircraft:	1 Westland Aerospace Coyote.
Programmes:	Jaguar, originally planned as name-ship for class, delayed by steel strike slowing supplies to Yarrow, so Tiger completed first at Vosper-Thorneycroft. Highly modular design, and large amounts of surplus space are available for later growth or refit.
Structure:	Extremely robust construction.
Operation:	Replacing the “Counties” one-for-one, the “Tiger” class destroyers are well-balanced and capable ships, the match of almost anything afloat. Like the “Battle” class, they appear underarmed for their size: this is intentional, making it much easier to update or add weapons and sensors later in their lives.

14 Battle Class Frigates	Trafalgar, Barossa, Matapan, El Alamein, Corunna, Jutland, Arnhem, Rorke’s Drift, Crecy, Talavera, Goose Green, Falaise, Waterloo, Mons
Displacement:	5 200 tons.
Machinery:	2 Rolls-Royce Zeus turbines: 45 000shp. 2 Rolls-Royce Poseidon gas turbines: 15 000shp. Two shafts.
Speed, knots:	30 at full power, 20 on Poseidons.
Complement:	96
Missiles:	49 VLS cells for Sea Shark, Talon, Sea Hawk. 1 19-tube launchers for GD Lance SAM.
Torpedoes:	Magazine Torpedo Launch System, 4 324mm tubes for Underwater Dynamics Manta.
Guns:	1 IWS 155mm guns. 2 S-K IKAL-27.
Mines:	Mine rails fitted, stowage for 45 Starfish or 30 Man-o-War.
Aircraft:	2 Westland Aerospace Coyote or 1 Kestrel.
Modernisation:	Given that the air threat is considered the greatest at present, considerable lobbying is underway to retrofit Sea Comet capability into the “Battles”. They can already embark the missile for datalinked control by “Tiger” class destroyers.
Structure:	Fitted with hull stabilisers and advanced noise control measures. Said to be extremely quiet at low speeds. Matapan involved in a 2048 incident in which she was hit by a Maxim Arms ASM-7 missile: the “Battles” are as able to “fight hurt” as the “Counties”, on which their design drew heavily.
Operation:	The “Battle” class frigates are similar or somewhat superior in weapon and sensor fit to most corporate vessels, the main difference being the improved sonar (including a towed array) and ASW capabilities, and the inclusion of Talon capability to allow them to strike satellite targets or ballistic missiles. They are necessarily rather larger in size than most corporate vessels, and appear underarmed by comparison: this impression is misleading.

12 “Minerva” Class Frigates	Minerva, Hero, Achilles, Dido, Ajax, Sirius, Galatea, Danae, Euryalus, Leander, Phoebe, Naiad
Displacement:	4 600 tons.
Machinery:	2 Rolls-Royce Hermes turbines: 36 000shp. 2 Rolls-Royce Poseidon gas turbines: 15 000shp. One shaft.
Speed, knots:	28 at full power, 22 on Poseidons.
Complement:	110
Missiles:	32 cells for Sea Hawk SAMs, 16 Sea Shark missiles in deck canisters.
Torpedoes:	Magazine Torpedo Launch System, 4 324mm tubes for Underwater Dynamics Manta.
Guns:	1 Vickers Mark 8 114mm, 2 S-K IKAL-27, 1 Signaal Goalkeeper.
Aircraft:	1 Westland Aerospace Coyote
Programmes:	Built between 2025 and 2035, the Minervas have not been entirely successful ships: designed as low-cost escorts, during the Euro-Wars they found themselves required to fill roles they were not adequately armed for, and suffered accordingly despite the best efforts of their crews. They did prove to be excellent ASW platforms, and capable escorts when protected by AAW ships or air cover.
Modernisation:	These vessels are limited by their hull size and form, and little can be done to increase their armament or improve their sensors without excessive cost.
Structure:	Fitted with stabilisers and “Agouti” noise maskers. Long strakes along hull a response to fatigue cracking. Said to be permanently ballasted to compensate for addition of defensive EW systems and Sea Shark missiles.
Operation:	Designed as low-cost vessels, the elderly “Minerva” class frigates (commissioned from 2031 to 2039) are lightly armed compared to most modern warships, three being sunk in the Euro- Wars. However, they remain useful vessels for escort, ASW and anti-piracy work, provided their weak anti-air weaponry is taken into account. Plans to improve their armament are limited by their age, and especially topweight constraints, and hence they are being retired at a relatively young age. Older members are being replaced by “Battle” class FFGs, and a new class of frigate is on the boards.

AIRCRAFT

IWS Hurricane FGS.2

The replacement for the Nightwraith, the Hurricane has achieved a versatility rarely seen: not since the F-4 Phantom or F/A-18 Hornet has one airframe performed so many roles, both at sea and at land. Becoming the backbone of the RAF and the only fast jet operated by the Fleet Air Arm, the Hurricane lives up to its famous namesake in flexibility: a capable fighter, bomber, and “strike aircraft” - a euphemism for nuclear weapons delivery, if necessary. Though excelling in no one area, the Hurricane is a tough, reliable aircraft, trusted by its crews and possessed of no particular vices.

Federated-Boeing Guardian AEW.4

The early-warning Guardian grew from the “Fleet Service Aircraft” concept in the US Navy: a single airframe which could then be tasked with ASW, airborne early-warning, carrier onboard delivery, electronic warfare and tanker support. The AEW.4 version uses a Transys Neuronet phased-array radar with conformal arrays, rather than the APS-171 radome of the US version, but the airframe remains identical.

Federated-Boeing Guardian MRK.3

Almost indistinguishable to the eye from her radar-equipped sibling, the MRK-3 carries out antisubmarine search and attack, surface reconnaisance, and tanker support duties for the Fleet.

Westland Aerospace Kestrel HAS.5

A solid, reliable and well-liked aircraft, the HAS.5 has as its main duty inner-zone ASW, but has search-and-rescue, surface- search, and antiship strike (armed with a pair of Sea Shark ASMs) capability as well. Beginning to age (the design is based upon the venerable Merlin), both the Navy and the Army are considering replacements.

Westland Aerospace Coyote HAS.2

A new and extremely popular aircraft, the Coyote holds the current world helicopter speed record, and is extremely agile. The Army operate it as a reconnaisance, liaison and light attack craft: the Navy use their HAS.2 version as a ship’s helicopter, tasked with ASW and antiship search/strike. A number of frigates can embark either two Coyotes or one Kestrel.

WEAPONS

GUNS

Vickers Mark 8 Mod 3 114mm

The last of the 4.5-inch guns in the RN are aboard the “Counties” and “Minervas”. Firing twenty shells a minute at maximum rate, the Mark 8 fires HE, starshell or chaff, and is effective against aircraft, ships and shore targets.

IWS 155mm

A 155mm/52 calibre gun in an enclosed, automated mount, the 155mm Mark 2 is a reliable and effective weapon, used mostly for shore bombardment but capable of antiship and antiaircraft fire. Firing twelve shells a minute to over fifty kilometres (sixty-eight with base bleed ammunition) the gun is neither the fastest-firing, nor the longest-ranged, but is liked for its accuracy and reliability.

The later, lighter Mark 3 mount is little different. Able to fire HE, armour-piercing, submunition, illuminant, smoke, several guided natures and canister (used for anti-missile defence) rounds, the 155mm gun’s flexibility is unmatched.

Bofors SKL-57 57mm gun

A rapid-fire (300 rounds/min) 57mm cannon, water-cooled, firing 6lb shells to over 10km in an anti-shipping role or 6km in an anti-aircraft or anti-missile role. In RN usage, primarily an anti-aircraft weapon firing course-corrected shells.

Saeder-Krupp IKAL-27 and Viper

A lightweight revolver cannon (using a single barrel but rotating chamber), the IKAL-27 fires HE or armour-piercing rounds at 1,800 per minute to over three kilometres. IKAL-27s are either mounted on free-swinging, unpowered pedestals, or paired in powered mounts with a Transys-Neuronet fire-control system (the weapon system thus created being called the Viper). Viper mounts are fitted to small craft and auxiliaries.

Signaal “Goalkeeper”

A 30mm rotary cannon cued by radar, the venerable and oft-updated ‘Goalkeeper’ remains useful aganst older antiship missiles: newer and faster threats, though, pass through its danger space too rapidly for the system to reliably stop them.

Transys-Neuronet MR-4 Laser

Entering the Fleet for antimissile defence, the MR-4 is claimed to be able to score control kills (by destroying seekers and flight surfaces) on missiles at over three miles, and destructive kills on missiles or aircraft at over a mile. It is fitted (with its fire control system) in the carriers and Tiger-class destroyers, and may be retrofitted to the “Battle” class frigates.

MISSILES

Naval Ordnance Laboratories Hades C-3

ICBM Britain’s main strategic deterrent, the Hades can carry up to ten warheads, either nuclear weapons with yields ranging from 10 to 250 kilotons, or orbital interceptors. The missiles are modern and sophisticated, equipped with a variety of penetration aids to degrade enemy defences.

IWS Sea Meteor

Developed from the air-to-air Meteor, the Sea Meteor is an elderly system: however, regular updates have maintained its capability.

By good sense and planning, the troubled Sea Comet’s guidance systems are able to control its elder sibling, and so the “Tiger” class are serving with their missile silos loaded with Sea Meteor until the development problems of the Sea Comet can be solved.

Transys Neuronet Sea Comet

Intended to replace the aging Sea Meteor, this program ran into severe delays, due both to technical problems (for a while the requirement to intercept ballistic missiles was imposed, and this caused great difficulty) and to political interference. Though back on course, and at last meeting requirements, Sea Comet is four years behind schedule and is not expected to enter Fleet service until 2060 at the earliest.

IWS Sea Hawk

The Sea Hawk missile is the standard short-range defensive missile for the Royal Navy, three missiles fitting into a standard VLS cell. Designed expressly to cope with multiple, high-speed inbound targets, Sea Hawk is said to be accurate, effective highly resistant to countermeasures. Its main drawback is said to be short range.

Naval Ordnance Laboratory Talon

A high-powered missile launched from a special VLS unit (occupying three cells for the missile and its boosters), the Talon is carried in small numbers by the “County” and “Tiger” class destroyers. Nominally intended for ballistic missile interception, the Talon is also capable of destroying orbital targets. The Talon is also air launched, allowing targets in higher orbit to be attacked.

General Dynamics RIM-127 Lance

A hypervelocity fire-and-forget weapon, usually mounted in trainable nineteen-cell launchers as a point-defence weapon. Has begun to replace small-calibre gun-based CIWS systems since supersonic and evading antiship missiles rendered them much less effective.

Saeder-Krupp Sea Shark

Fired from a standard VLS cell, from aircraft or from submarines, the Sea Shark is a “modular missile” fulfilling a variety of roles: both anti-ship and land-attack. Flying at very low altitude and Mach 0.9 for most of its flight, athe use of the small turbofan engine’s afterburner allows terminal speeds of over Mach 2 at a great cost in range: typically, the missile can fly over a thousand miles at cruise speed, yet a dash profile reduces range to 120 miles (80 miles at cruise, and a 40-mile sprint at Mach 2.5).

Shorter final sprints increase range considerably, and improve survivability for land-attack missions compared to a cruise arrival: accelerating to top speed and a five-mile final dash allow a total range of about 350 miles, according to unclassified figures. The warhead and guidance system are modular and easily changed: it is the work of half an hour for a skilled technician to change from a unitary 500lb HE warhead to a submunition or nuclear payload, and likewise to change the guidance mode is a flick of a switch: whether terrain-referenced inertial with GPS, multisensor anti-ship, or combined. With a data link (usually requiring an aircraft in the region) the weapon’s millimetre-wave radar scan can be viewed by an operator to select targets, or the most vulnerable parts thereof. The weapon has seen use in several corporate conflicts, most notably Ensenada and Warsaw, though not yet in RAF service.

Saab-Saker Hornet

The Hornet is a lightweight, fire-and-forget missile carried by the Royal Navy’s shipborne Coyote helicopters for use against lightly-defended targets such as patrol boats or bunkers ashore.

Though controversial in its procurement (many believed it was bought in preference to the IWS candidate for political reasons, to remind IWS that the domestic candidate would not automatically be purchased if inferior in pricing or quality)

TORPEDOES AND UNDERWATER WEAPONS

Underwater Dynamics Manta

The Manta is the Royal Navy’s standard lightweight homing torpedo, a 324mm diameter, 600-lb weapon powered by high-power batteries at a speed “in excess of fifty knots for durations exceeding eight minutes”. Delivered from aircraft, helicopters and surface ships, it is said to be highly resistant to countermeasures, and the lethality of its 120lb directed-energy warhead was demonstrated when a warshot trial sank the decommissioned HMS Torbay.

Underwater Dynamics Orca

The Orca (nicknamed the Whale) is the main weapon of the RN’s submarine fleet: 533mm diameter, 2.5 metres long and weighing over two tons, the Whale deserves its nickname. In marked contrast to the US Mark 67 heavyweight, the Orca uses electric propulsion, giving a somewhat lower top speed (believed to be about 60 knots) and shorter range (estimates of 15-20 miles at high speed, or 25- 30 at low speed, are common). However, it can be launched near- noiselessly by swimming it out of the tube, and at its low speed of about 40 knots it is almost undetectable, whereas the Mark 67 is notoriously noisy. The RN appear to value its stealth over the US weapon’s performance. Its warhead, 700lb of PBX, is extremely destructive.

IWS Starfish

An advanced mine for submarine laying, the Starfish is a seabed influence mine weighing about a ton and able to be launched from a standard torpedo tube, external carriage, or a warship’s deck rails. With a 1,000-lb explosive charge triggered by sophisticated acoustic, magnetic and pressure sensors, the Starfish is claimed to be unsweepable and able to distinguish targets by type, selecting only certain vessels to attack.

IWS Man-o-War

The Man-o-War is a development of the successful Starfish, using a similar sensor suite but able to be laid in deeper waters: on detecting an appropriate target, the Man-o-War deploys a flotation collar and control surfaces, and rises towards the surface to detonate beneath the target’s keel. The penalty is a greater chance that the target may evade, greater cost, and the increased bulk of the weapon (three Starfish may be carried in place of one torpedo, compared to two Man-o-War). However, the weapon allows minefields to be laid in waters normally too deep for bottom mines and means the easily-swept moored mines are not necessary.

Underwater Dynamics Archerfish

A venerable yet reliable and cost-effective system for mine clearance, the Archerfish is a simple concept: a small expendable drone controlled by a fibre-optic umbilical to its mothership, carrying a simple sonar, a floodlight and TV camera, and a warhead from an antitank missile. The drone is sent down to investigate a suspicious object, either by sonar or visually, and if required it is manoevered into position and the warhead exploded, causing a sympathetic detonation of the mine charge.