The Royal Navy patrol vessel HMS Tyne has arrived at HMNB Clyde after a demanding year that has already seen her log more than 32,000 nautical miles – the equivalent of one and a half circumnavigations of the globe – without straying far from UK waters.
The Portsmouth-based ship, one of three first-generation River-class vessels still in service, has spent over 3,500 hours at sea in 2025, frequently tasked with monitoring ships and submarines transiting the Channel and the UK’s wider area of responsibility.
Her work has also included less-publicised missions supporting the survey of critical national maritime infrastructure.
In recent months, Tyne has served as a platform for Mine and Diving Threat Exploitation Group teams deploying autonomous underwater vehicles for detailed seabed assessments, as well as for Puma unmanned aircraft flights to extend her surveillance reach.
“River-class ships deliver week-in, week-out, across an array of tasking: homeland defence, supporting mine warfare and diving teams in underwater exploitation, to delivering future sailors and officers to the fleet through a multitude of training,” said Lieutenant Bailey Denyer, the ship’s operations officer.
When not engaged in front-line patrols, Tyne is used for intensive training, from basic seamanship for officer cadets to advanced navigation courses for future commanders of Queen Elizabeth-class carriers. Sub Lieutenant Paul Clark, currently undergoing specialist training aboard, said the ship’s tempo and variety of tasking offered “a clear insight of what to expect” in future roles.
Tyne’s duties this year have also included port visits in Northern Ireland, support for events in the Isle of Wight, and participation in the Shetland Islands’ commemoration of the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe alongside the Royal Norwegian Navy.
We could do with a batch 3 of 5 vessels. These have really delivered value
It’s a no brainer, we need another batch to replace the B1s, perhaps as you say another 5 to even replace the current B2s in their role and bring them back for UK/NATO tasking.
Agreed, although I’d settle for a 1-1 replacement of the B1’s. A bronze solution would be a very similar design to the B1’s with no added capability, but if a landing pad and hangar could be added you might even bring 3 B2’s home like Smithy suggested.
I’d like to see a B3, with a hanger, not neccessarily for Merlin, as we are a tad short of them (or will be when T26/31 come on line) but maybe Wildcat as a permanant fixture. I reckon the Rivers have been a mighty success despite all the arguments.
Very much agreed they are a success. I doubt they’ll have a permanent Wildcat but the option would be good, and maybe we’ll get some UAV’s with Helicopter like endurance, so a hangar gives options (granted the B2’s could in theory have a containerised hangar for UAV’s too).
i still chuckle when they’re referred to as warships. they could/should be. leave the patrol duties to rivers or sweepers. or better still echo and enterprise could do everything that a river could do.
could do worse by designing a new class of light frigate littoral inshore scholarships based on the batch 2 river. hull fitted with mk 41 torpedo 6 inch gun and a hangar( just kidding.
Everyones profile is the same, there seems to be an issue.
OK, scratch that, George explained the issue.
32k nm in one year for 1 ship, wow!
how many crews per ship?
That was my yearly total on motorbikes up to recently.
Roughly 600 miles per week, 85 miles per day. I guess that’s what a Patrol Vessel is built to do.
yes but it says it didn’t stray from UK waters, so doing 32kn in the Channel is a lot of circles
and there are 8 River Class OPV, so it’s a lot for just one boat. it’s not like OPV are going sub hunting in the GIUK gap
I was giving a comparrison figure just as some sort of yardstick. A daily commute to work of 80 miles is not that high, allthough I’d not like the fuel bill each week !
In fairness: https ://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/sites/default/files/chart-images/eez-map-2020.png
UK waters are quite large. (third times a charm)
I feel the RN can learn a lesson from the Italian navy..
They are build a lovely new batch of OPVs via the PPX program.. 4 are building or ordered with 2 more waiting for funding.. the whole 6 patrol boats will cost about 1.34 billion pounds for the design development build and 10 years logistic and support for the 6 boats or about 220 million a pop..
These are full fat warships designed to fight and operate in rough seas, 2400 tons, 95 meters , hanger for a medium rotor and large class 2 drone side by side. It’s got CODLAD propulsion 24 knots, 10 knots under electric only drive, it’s got 2 compartment propulsion and power generation for survivability. Its for full naval combat management systems as well as sensors surface and air X band radar, OE turrets and a fire control radar, 76 mm super rapid cannon with guided rounds, 2 30mm remote weapons ( with air burst rounds) it’s also seemingly getting CAMM. They will then be ordering a further 6 European patrol corvettes which is going to be 3000 tons and 110 meters and will also include a full gun armament and anti air missile system.
So as well as their 23 major surface combatants Italy will have up to 12 2500-3000 combat capable patrol ships…
PPA are not patrol vessels, that is a translation misunderstanding. They are light frigates for second rate duties – much like T-31, Mogami and FDI. The Italian navy has actual OPVs just like us with the same capabilities as ours.
Sorry Rowan please re read it I’m taking about the PPX which is a 2500 patrol ship, not the PPA which as you say is a 6000 ton frigate. The Italians are building 6 PPX to compliment their 7 PPA, 12 FREM, 2 horizons and 2 new heavy destroyers.
I wouldn’t describe the PPX’s as “Full fat warships,” certainly if we tried to play them off as such there’d be outrage. A 76 and two 30mm’s does not make a frigate, or a full fat warship, and if they get CAMM (which I’m skeptical of) it’ll be an extremely limited number (just physically the design is so limited in space. So it’s not going to be going into harms way, but the first three ships cost 330 million each (that number might come down to 220 if all six are ordered but still, it’s an eyewatering price tag for an OPV, for comparison the first 3 Batch 2 Rivers came in at 350million£ for all three). Also with a crew of 70 the PPX’s aren’t going to be cheap to run. So a lot of money for a class of ships that don’t really belong in war zones.
Warship does not necessarily mean major surface combatant. They have built the PPX to be a warship.. it’s got a full set of systems and sensors as well as the ability to operate a full medium rotor small ships flight. The expense of giving it electric drive as well as 2 machine spaces is something you only put in a warship.
I specified full fat warship didn’t I? (And if you want to use a broader term of Warship then the Rivers are also built to be Warships). Yes, they’ve put a lot of money into things, and then used a hull that’s too small to give it a significant SAM facility, ASuW suite or Land Attack capability, so it is a very expensive OPV that can only really be used for OPV taskings because it isn’t fit for a combat role.
The River class OPV’s have been a huge success, albeit knowingly overpriced because the Government and MOD failed to keep to the terms of a Heads of Agreement with BAE on shipbuilding orders (e.g. cancelling T45-07 to -12) and had to effectively pay significant compensation instead. Critically they are very economical to run, easy to operate, and require only a small crew (and few of those need to be highly qualified and experienced specialists). If the Batch 1’s are still in a tolerable mechanical state, I wouldn’t be surprised if their service life is extended by another 5 years. The current plan is replace them in home waters with the Batch 2’s from 2028, but that obviously leaves a gapping hole in terms of a forward deployed UK naval presence. The hope was to use T31’s for this, but their construction is two or three years behind schedule, and the RN will also then have no choice but to use them as GP frigates given the unexpectedly rapid disappearance of knackered and economically unrepairable T23’s. An order for some River Batch 3’s (subcontracted to H&W Appledore?) would make a lot of sense, but there have been no hints that is even being considered.