BAE Systems has marked 15 years of supporting Operations Aintree and Kipion, the Royal Navy’s mine countermeasure strategy in the Gulf.
The defence contractor has supported the Royal Navy’s Hunt Class vessels in-region for the past 15 years – and also delivers maintenance and upkeep to the rest of the Hunt Class flotilla out of Portsmouth Naval Base.
“BAE Systems today marks 15 years of supporting Operations Aintree and Kipion, the Royal Navy’s mine countermeasure (MCM) strategy in the Gulf. The defence contractor has supported the Royal Navy’s Hunt Class vessels in-region for the past 15 years – and also delivers maintenance and upkeep to the rest of the Hunt Class flotilla out of Portsmouth Naval Base. The UK Mine Countermeasures Force is part of the nation’s ongoing commitment to peace and security in the region where Royal Navy mine countermeasures vessels are permanently stationed.
The Royal Navy works closely with regional and coalition partners to maintain the security of Gulf sea lanes and ensure the safe flow of trade. This is crucial to both international shipping and the global economy. Approximately 15% of the world’s oil supply comes from the region. The UK Mine Countermeasures Force is currently made up of two Hunt Class mine countermeasures vessels, HMS Middleton and HMS Chiddingfold, and two Sandown Class minehunters, HMS Penzance and HMS Bangor.”
In collaboration with the Royal Navy’s Forward Support Unit, BAE Systems say that it provides continuous in-region support via its Hunt Class Output Management team. It maintains a presence in Bahrain, using local teams where possible and deploys teams from Portsmouth when required.
In addition to ongoing maintenance carried out in the region, BAE Systems also delivers maintenance and upkeeps to all six Hunt Class vessels at Portsmouth Naval Base.
BAE Systems’ work on the Hunt Class has included:
- Repair and upkeep of the ships’ specialist Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP) hulls;
- Involvement in the Hunt re-propulsion programme – designing for, and implementing, the installation of new engines to replace legacy systems;
- Delivery of a wide range of capability insertions and systems upgrades to upgrade performance, capabilities and crew conditions.
You can read more from BAE here.
Anti magnetic Shipmate 👍
non magnetic
Wow Gunbuster looks nothing like I imagined. That pony tail suits him. 😐😐
😂
No way is that his natural colour hair!!!😆😆
I think you should be the one to ask him if his collar and cuffs match ! 😂😂
Sun bleached ,and a few swims in the gulf does wonders too ones hair colour Deep
I will take it word for it mate!🤣
Wait… did you just assume GB’s gender?😅
I umm well umm. That’s it well what I meant was umm. 😯😯 I’ll get my coat. 😁😁
😂 Haha. Seems like the best way of handling that.
Side note: I find it hilarious how differently people talk to me online depending on what I happen to have as my profile picture at a given time.
Yeah it’s weird how we seem to assume based on little or nothing. On gender identity I know very little but what I do know is to stay the hell out of it. Plus I have enough instinct for self preservation to know when to stop poking the bear. 😀😀
Are you a real Redhead , I have a friend who’d like too know Dern
Um, I don’t even know how to answer that 😅
Are you a solipsist?
Its your meme portrait rrd hair ill get my Coat
I know. But what do you mean by real?
A carbon copy of your Meme Colour that was all
Well, all evidence points to me being made mostly of carbon, but my eyes don’t glow blue I’m afraid.
Atomic number 6 we are all Carbon based 😎
Morning Dern, you ought to visit New Zealand . We are so left of left, now entering the realm of “non- binary”. l am to old to understand what shape or form that might take.
It’s over here as well. It not a him or her it’s a they
ha ha – good one MS.
Tell that to Shakespeare…..
Yes MS I now Identify myself as International Jetsetter all round snappie Dresser frontline attack NATO killer and that’s how I wish too be Addressed
“Ze” we have a poster on the signalbox wall enlightening us all. I got as far as Ze and that was enough.
What’s wrong with Non-Binary?
Does that mean you don’t Identify yourself as a ONE or a ZERO such as a Binary code I’m confused
Hang on, just checking are you actually asking me to explain or are we still joking around? Happy to explain by all means if the former.
Everyday is a joke for me Dern , it’s a great Defence mechanism, I’ve used since Corporate sorry if any offence has occurred
No offence taken, just wasn’t sure if you where actually asking for an explanation is all.
Cheers Dern I’m an ex matlot and like many other ex Jack tars whenever the excrement hit the impellor someone or something would be in line for a laugh even in cases that seemed tragic too outsiders we’d find something that had a funny angle too it it just a way of coping and it sticks with us even when you leave the service 👍
Couple of pointers…
Besides that It looks just like me!
Glass Reinforced Plastic.
When the Chid was Rosyth based and off on deployment to the Gulf for 3 days where’d be going backwards and forwards over the Deguassing range at Burntisland when the TV crews interviewed the officers they stated that we couldn’t even take our Car keys with us because of the ships magnetic signature and they believed us David
Tommo i’d have believed it !
Yet when we’d be hunting or the divers were out in their Geminis we would all be using metal thermos flasks Still got mine all dented up always full of Ice cold Limers (powdered lime crystals ) thrist quenching god knows what our Mag signature was with all those Flasks
😂😂 No lager n lime ? That’s a bloody shame.
Don’t know what the Mag signature of a crate of Lager was so just limers
😁😁
HMS Brecon and HMS Ledbury we are the first two Hunts to be Commissioned in 1979. HMS Wilton was the first GRP hulled minehunter, although it was a Ton class design.
My old Boat the Chid gulf 88
She looks in good nick. Plenty more miles left on that clock.
Blimey the Chid did the States in the mid eighties for her first overseas deployment I joined her 88 for the gulf her first Refit was 90 91 so for a Tupperware boat she has proved her worth she’ll soon be 40
When you think a ships worst enemy is rust a GRP hull will never have that problem. New engines n electronics she could almost go on for ever.
The only buggerance with GRP was if it delaminated like on the Brecon otherwise good Hulls good mag signature
First of class. Second GRP ever commisioned. The learning curve on them was almost vertical 40 years ago.
They did call hms Wilton the see through Tupperware TON when at anchor in the Solent during the hours of darkness apparently the ships internal lighting could be seen from the outside of the Hull
HMS Nightie might have been better ! Now that’s started a train of thought. 😊😊
Brecon did make it down to the Falklands in 82 so at least the Navy then knew that Hunts could make long voyages and they haven’t let the Navy down .When on the Chid at anchor we lost fwd hydrolics we connected the aft sweep wire all the way up the ships side to the Anchor cable parted the cable and hauled the Anchor up onto the Sweepdeck that was one task not written in any Naval manual took a few hours but it was beer all round from a grateful Skipper
Did some trials on Wilton before handover. Could look down from the main deck to the bilges until the decks were painted
Hi Alan ,the Dockyard painters must of forgot the 2nd coat , along the Hull or the interior lighting was extremely bright 🌞
Root whitening, delam…all issues that can be addressed.
It was a bit awkward at the time as Brecon was traversing through the Kyle of Lochalsh when delamination occurred turnaround back to Rosyth into the Shed Gunbuster
Morning Mate. I’ve often thought what good value the Hunts delivered to the British taxpayer. I think they originally entered serviced in 1982? On a personal note, I would not like to be on board one of those in a big sea.
Hi klonkie , totally agree good Value for the taxpayer , Brecon was the first she made it down to the Falklands after the Conflict , it proved that they weren’t just a Coastal vessel, but could go the distance ,although big Seas and rough weather was a downside bouncing around wasn’t great Having a Lid on your Cup of Coffee was the Norm The Cooks would just put Snacks out , I think that’s why those Boats have stayed out the Gulf with crew changes a lot easier hardly ever gets rough out there
Cheers Tommo, have a good weekend
👍 cheers Klonkie
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I have done a fair bit of work on both Hunts and Sandowns out here over the years. Docking’s for hull cleaning and UW valve work, underwater repaints, GRP repairs, Voith exchanges, shaft and prop changes. Replacement of CV8 Gensets with Volvo Penta sets. The past 4 weeks have been on my final Montrose FTSP. The next one should be on her replacement. Now thats over its back to working with the USN on there stuff for a while before heading back to Blighty for a quick 2 week visit. I hear that I am not going to get 75… Read more »
Nice view GB in 91 we had a shaftleak and was hauled out in Dubai one seal had caused damage to all the prop fitting 1 week stuck on RFA Sir name escapes me FMG (m) Did their best we ended up in the end back at Vospers Shed mind you the migrant worker force did agood job on the Hull whether we needed it or not