HMS Dragon, a Type 45 Destroyer, is taking part in a two-week exercise with the French Navy.
Exercise POLARIS 21 is a huge workout for the French Navy in every aspect of combat at sea: carrier operations, anti-submarine warfare, mine clearance, amphibious landings, as well as cyber threats and the latest drone tech. According to a Royal Navy news release:
“The Marine Nationale is keen to test its ability to ‘plug and fight’ with its allies. So while France provides the bulk of participants in two tasks, headed by her flagship aircraft carrier FS Charles de Gaulle, Spain, Italy, Greece, the USA have all thrown their hats in the ring with the Royal Navy to get the most out of the exercise.
In all, more than 6,000 personnel, two dozen ships, one nuclear submarine, Navy Rafale jets, French land and air forces are involved in Polaris, which is split between the Atlantic and Mediterranean.”
It is understood that the international force will spend the first week ‘warming up’: getting to know each other and their methods of operating, before Polaris shifts gear into a more demanding test of all participants, focused on the Charles de Gaulle battle group.
You can read more about this from the Royal Navy here.
The battle plan sounds impressive.. red forces are to be taken seriously
Dragon’s incapable of sinking anything, and once it’s 48 missiles are used up (assuming it has a full magazine) it’s there to be sunk. Good to see CAMM being augmented into Darings in next 7 years, but the RN’s neglect of ASuW capabilities is short sighted and any foe can easily work around.
Except every ship in that picture you idiot. “and once it’s 48 missiles are used up ” in sinking every ship, yeah.
“but the RN’s neglect of ASuW capabilities is short sighted and any foe can easily work around.”
What neglect? The ships are all ASW capable.
You need to read a bit more. It’s missiles are AAW, it has no ASuW capability. Beyond a helicopter what are it’s ASW capabilities.
Look up the Bacchante Class and learn some history goof
Who will take the surrender for the British side? Sorry…cheap shot but couldn’t resist…🤣
I can see rhe headline now. Entire French Navy turns tail and surrenders. To german sailors on a rowing boat.
Only joking.
Impressive exercise. I like the fact the blue forces composed around carrier CDG are attacking red forces (the bad guys) composed around LPHD guarded by HMS Dragon. I hope Dragon obliterates the blue side and shows what a type 45 can do.
I guess we will never have any result, but I’m pretty sure rafale pilote will have hard time to bypass dragon and horizon shield.. such exercise are very valuable in the current international context..
Would love a red on blue exercise of RN QE CSG vs French Navy CSG. We will bring 2 astutes, 2 type 45s, 3 type 23s. Vs similar French force. Who would win? My money would be on RN and superior attacking ability of F35Bs + Astutes running riot.
Fortunately it’ll never come to pass. Instead we are concentrating on honing our mutual skills to take on the real baddies over in Ivanland. Let’s hope that is never necessary either but as General Carter said, we should be ready for it.
Nice to hear a bit of optimism.
Please explain Jay. The UK would of course only fight Russia with the whole of NATO. How would Russian airstrikes wipe out all of our armed forces in 48hrs? Do we not have capable air defence? Are our forces not widely dispersed – as a single-service example – the British army has dozens of bases/garrisons/equipment sites scattered far and wide – from Suffield (Canada) to Cyprus to Inverness to Aldershot, Colchester, Warminster, Estonia etc.
Maybe. I wouldnt over estimate Russias abilities or under estimate ours. Lets just hope we never have to fight a war against each other.
Quite a nonsensical argument; rather, I would say Russia would fail to defeat the UK in a war or even reach it. We have capable air defence in the form of our Type 45 destroyers, all our frigates being fitted with Sea Ceptor, and CAMM being integrated into the army. Russian hypersonic missiles are not reliable and low in number, for the moment. These would deteriorate the long range cruise missile/non-nuclear ballistic missile threat sufficiently to allow us to operate without heavy casualties, certainly far beyond the wiping out that you speak of. The Russian navy is, save for the Admiral Gorshkov class frigates and the lone Yasen-M class submarine, outdated, and very poorly maintained. We can stick Merlins on the carriers, surround them with 23s and 45s (or shortly 26s and 45s, which will then be the best ASW and AAW platforms, respectively) and go sub-hunting. The Russians do not have such a capability. The Astutes would be their biggest problem, and even 2-3 deployed to the North Sea, with info from SIGINT and MI6, stop any task forces (whatever they can put together) coming around the Scandinavian peninsula. The Russian naval auxiliary is appalling, and their capacity to transport troops is similarly low. To invade Britain, an army which is of much higher quality if lower size, would require a force 2-3 times bigger at least. The Russians cannot transport this, perhaps 10-15000 in the first wave, the majority of which would be lost to Astutes and Harpoons (later FC/ASW). Your last point, that the UK does not practise dispersal, is simply untrue since we have dozens of army bases and garrisons, multiple airbases and three large naval bases.
If RU wanted to it could defeat the UK within a day. 3 strikes on the officers mess at Brize, Con and Lossie would remove our refuelling and AD capability.
The UK has no IADS, and so Faslane and it’s minehunters (and every other base) would be vulnerable to air. Remove them and RU can mine the Clyde. Game over. I’d give the UK no more than 1 week at best, 1 day at worst.
“If RU wanted to it could defeat the UK within a day.”
With RU being similarly “defeated” in reply then.
Similar strikes to Russian locations would reduce their own ability to function.
“The UK has no IADS”
It doesn’t require one.
“. Remove them and RU can mine the Clyde. Game over. “
With what? When it’s outmoded ships have been sunk and it’s Naval HQs struck with indefensible Trident missiles at the tactical-yield level?
Neither side lasts long in an all-out war.
You obviously have no idea what IADS are.
Russian aircraft would be shot down within 48 hours Jay. They use true “Cold War relics” as opposed the Typhoons and F-35s.
Every UK airbase practices dispersal.
some sense. A lot of people here have rose tinted spectacles
With limited surface fleet anti ship capability my money would sadly be on French Navy at the moment. Dragon is incapable of sinking anything
“With limited surface fleet anti ship capability “
The RN’s Harpoon capability alone would sink the French. You’re clueless.
“Dragon is incapable of sinking anything”
That’s what all its weapons are for, anti-ship and otherwise. You’re incapable of accepting when you’re wrong PRJ. Pathetic.
Dragon doesn’t have harpoon! read a bit more and get your head out of the sand. What missiles does Dragon possess that can ship another ship?
Any Rafales get past HMS Dragon’s missiles ,Chuck fish at them 😀🐟
The French horizon destroyer and the Italian destroyer look very similar to the type 45s as they come from same design background. France is not an ally though and I can’t imagine France going to war over Britannia having a war with Russia or China
Well that is the elephant in the room. Would France and Germany militarily support Poland, Ukraine or the Baltic states if they were attacked? I think if whole of NATO was committed too they would reluctantly do so. If however there is any split in coherence between the NATO states you can bet France and Germany will sit on the side lines. Dont trust them to do the right thing.
Funny that you obviously are influenced in your judgment by events that occurred between UK and France. However France and UK are the closest ally in Europe in term of defense.
France think that Russia is not the threat that UK believe it is. And in fact theirs a lot of paranoia in the Russian side and in the western side as well. That’s why France thinks it is better to talk with Russia but if you follow military actuality you will see that France is sending ships, planes to spy on Russia. And in Mali France is trying to counter Russian influence.
As a French i can assure you of that we are allies !