RFA Lyme Bay, is actively participating in Exercise Predator’s Run, a multi-nation amphibious exercise off the coast of the Northern Territories, Australia.
This exercise showcases the RFA’s commitment to interoperability and joint operations with international partners.
RFA Lyme Bay, a Bay-class landing ship dock, is capable of delivering a fighting force anywhere in the world. The ship’s role includes transporting troops, vehicles, stores, and ammunition, thereby maintaining the ongoing waves of an amphibious assault.
@RFALYMEBAY
– Demonstrating interoperability with USMC by carrying out Cross Deck Aviation with an MV22 OSPREY #ExcersiePredatorsRun@RFAHeadquarters @NavyLookout @RFAArgus@40Commando @845NAS @Commando_Ops @47CdoRM @AUSTRALIANARMY #EXERCISEPREDATORSRUN pic.twitter.com/Rjfge6yi2S— RFA LYME BAY (@RFALymeBay) July 18, 2024
Launched in 2005 and designed as a replacement for the Round Table-class logistics ships, Lyme Bay is part of a class that includes four ships ordered from Swan Hunter and BAE Systems Naval Ships.
One of the key demonstrations during the exercise was the successful example of cross-deck aviation with a US Marine Corps MV22 Osprey.
RFA Lyme Bay’s participation in Exercise Predator’s Run involves collaboration with numerous military units, including the Royal Navy’s 40 Commando, 845 Naval Air Squadron, and 47 Commando Royal Marines, as well as the Australian Army.
As a sealift ship, Lyme Bay can carry up to 24 Challenger 2 tanks or 150 light trucks in 1,150 linear metres of space, with a cargo capacity equivalent to 200 tons of ammunition or 24 twenty-foot equivalent unit containers. The ship can accommodate 356 troops under normal conditions, with the ability to almost double this number in overload conditions.
While helicopters are not routinely carried on board, the flight deck can handle helicopters up to the size of Chinooks, Merlin helicopters, and Osprey tiltrotor aircraft.
Exercise Predator’s Run serves as an essential platform for testing and improving the coordination and execution of large-scale amphibious operations, demonstrating the strength and versatility of the participating forces.
The Bay’s, useful as they are, are no LPD. They are LSD(A)
A LPH or the future MRSS badly needed.
The LPH thing is long gone unless there is a sudden rush of cash and ship building capacity which I don’t foresee any time soon. Next problem is you need more cabs.
The idea of an Ocean class (obvs the second was never built), two Bay class and an Albion class making up a group was always a bit of a stretch.
What we need are MRSS with proper aviation facilities.
Yes organic hanger based aviation facilities for at least 2 Merlin’s side by side, with at least 2 deck spots is sort of a minimum requirement…unless your only planning for MRSS to operate with a carrier in tow.
The old concept was:-
2 x Bay
1 x Albion
1 x Ocean
1 x Invincible
1 x T42
1+ x T22 or T23
1 x Tanker
1 x Solids
Yes it’s often forgotten that these are essentially logistics vessels crewed by the RFA and not front line amphibious assault ships crewed by the RN . I do wonder how it will work with the ? 6 MRSS and how they will be crewed..for a long time the RN has run with a couple of amphibious assault ships, backed by logistics and sealift from the RFA. Will they have a couple crewed by the RN for first line and then the rest crewed by the RFA for logistics and support…assuming they will all be built to warship standards and have… Read more »
RFA need to be re-populated to achieve maximum support for the Armed Forces.
However, that will probably mean a re-valourisation pay levels… never happen.
Alternatively, I like the naval college at Baldoraj, in Latvia, they pump out superb mariners who go on to be first officers, Captains etc. At some stage, just as our student dentists should undertake 5(?) Years dentistry in an NHS practice, perhaps we could do something similar with an RFA college?
Thoughts?
We already have that. We have multiple Maritime colleges across the UK were the RFA Certificated Officers already go. Warsash, South Tyneside, Fleetwood and Glasgow.
The RN, FAA and RM really really want a few V-22 Osprey’s, but there seems no chance of getting them. Instead the MOD is spending millions messing around with “cheap” heavy lift UAVs that have a fraction of the capability. As usual, penny wise and pound foolish.
Errr no they dont want V22.
Massively costly and complex.
A logistical and maintenance nightmare to keep in the air and of late have had a nasty habit of spontaneously deciding they don’t want to be in the air anymore and would rather spoof in killing all onboard.
John R. Parker, Senior Manager, Tiltrotor Global Sales & Marketing at Boeing: “In the case of the UK and France, the interest is coming from the Navy.”
With the fun Boeing is having with whistleblowers revealing the safety shortcuts taken to keep profit up nobody is going to touch anything they make for a while.
For info the Bays can and have also landed on CH53 of all guises…and they are really really big!
that is impressive!
When we had substantial land forces, 15 brigades plus a RM brigade, the amphibious roles defined themselves – Ocean to lift the assault troops in by helo or landing craft, Bays to ferry in the vehicles, ammo, additional equipment and stores to sustain the lodgement. We have nothing like that now, only 4 ready brigades, all of which are tasked elsewhere, leqving just 2 small battallion-sized Commandos for coastal raiding. Given all the other equipment priorities and gaps across the services, it would be hard to justify any big spend on new ships just to ferry two small raiding parties.… Read more »
I think the reality is we’ll always need amphibious capabilities to transport troops etc to assist allies, reinforce postings, re-take territories & attack enemies. The army may be tiny now but we could at any time find ourselves in urgent need of a far bigger army & the means to deliver them, possibly half way round the world.
The problem is that the services don’t have the budgets to replace existing kit on anything like a one-for-one basis The black hole in the equipment budget – the gap between the money they have and the procurement programmes they need – is something like £18bn, a colossal sum that throws a big spanner in the works. The MRSS programme is currently unfunded, meaning that there is no money in the budget to pay for it. There is no magic money tree for defence and every element of Government expenditure is in the same boat. It is a woeful state… Read more »