The Royal Navy, Royal Marines, US Navy, and US Marine Corps have committed to enhancing collaboration on littoral operations.
A Statement of Intent, signed at Admiralty House in Portsmouth Naval Base, sets the stage for increased cooperation in complex operations in coastal zones, ultimately improving both countries’ ability to execute land, sea, and air operations effectively.
This agreement will lead to increased joint training and deployments for sailors and marines, bolstering the UK and US’s already substantial capabilities and facilitating better collaboration between maritime forces.
The Statement of Intent falls under the scope of Delivering Combined Seapower, a dialogue initiated in 2016 between the two nations to establish and maintain close joint operations.
This latest development builds upon previous successes in areas such as counter-reconnaissance and littoral strike cooperation.
Lieutenant General David Furness, Deputy Commandant for Plans, Policy, and Operations at the US Marine Corps, and Vice Admiral Martin Connell, Second Sea Lord, signed the Statement of Intent.
I remember seeing this last year and managed to find it again.
I wonder if we will purchase a mobile platform for the NSM at some point further down the line.
USMC NMESIS And Naval Strike Missiles Logistics Explained
“The “tyranny of distance” problem in the United States Indo-Pacific Command (INDO-PACOM) region, dotted with numerous small islands, forms the basis of the U.S. Marine Corps’ (USMC) strategy of Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations (EABO) of establishing ad-hoc bases on land and sea and advancing from these temporary bases in a “leapfrog movement.”
LINK
NMESIS Now
The Marine Corps must carefully consider how it will integrate its new weapon system to maximize its potential.
By First Lieutenant James Winnefeld, U.S. Marine Corps
LINK
https://i0.wp.com/militaryleak.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/us-marine-corps-successfully-demonstrates-nmesis-during-large-scale-exercise-21-lse-21-1.jpg
I’ve wondered if a Supacat 600 or HMT LWR chassis could be used for rapid deployment of a SAM missiles system. Although, I’m not sure if A400m can carry sky sabre.
I’ve been thinking the same thing Nigel. Perhaps the L118 Light Guns of 29 Regt RA should be replaced with NSM – offering far greater range and the ability to strike both maritime and land targets from the land.
It would be even better to have both 😉
🤞🏻👍🏻
We should form a new air-mobile artillery regiment that specialises in area denial. Put out a tender for a LIMAWS 2.0 project that includes a multirole launcher that can fire NSM, CAMM, GMLRS, Spear 3 or fit a 155mm cannon.
It’s been brought up before. Wouldn’t 1-2 Canberra class LHDs to complement or replace some of the Albions, Argus and Bays to help with all these littoral requirements and the T32 program be brought forward? Even the T31 can just be well armed prior to T32.
I would have thought having a couple of Canberra class, with suitable reinforcement to carry F35B would be a great replacement for Albion and Bulwark, giving maximum platform flexibility.
Alas, that would mean more than the handful of F35’s and transport Merlin’s we are procuring or already have.
I think half the reason for the Commando Raider concept was a final move away from brigade level deployment and bin off most of the Amphibious fleet.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Albion and Bulwark are not replaced, they just let the capacity dwindle away.
There’s certainly no reason to believe they won’t just carry on deleting capability.
Probably using the excuse that Finland, Sweden and Norway have the Northern flank covered, so Royal Marine Amphibious assault is no longer needed….
It’s agonizing & extemely irresponsable watching our core capabilities dwindle. Putin & Xi can only be delighted & emboldened seeing us butcher our abilities to intervene on the world stage. As an Island nation & permanent member of the security council we must have a stong amphibious capability. Perpetually whittling it away by design & neglect is demented. We’ve yet to see if the “growing the fleet” soundbite means actually reducing numbers & capabilities even further from already inadequate.
The CCP seems to be going rogue simply declaring neighbouring areas Chinese territory & therefore an internal matter beyond comment by others, disregarding international law whenever it sees fit. Russia’s not much different. Glad to see the USN carrying out a FON transit by one of its ABs in the face of more CCP bullying of Taiwan. I’d rather see the liberation of the long oppressed Chinese people than the extinction of Taiwan.
We must have forces capable to intervene & police intertaional law, rather than being dismissed by any agressor.
I doubt we will do much more (any) “intervention on the world stage” Afganistan was probabably a last hurrah (I use the word loosely).
Very well said, I totally agree. I’ve come to the conclusion that the political class of this country just don’t give a toss about defence, 30 years of cuts without let up have hollowed us out to the point of loosing any real ability to act unilaterally, we are only capable of the smallest of policing or military actions with no mass left to sustain effort for more than a few months.
Like the rest of NATO, we are now utterly dependent on Uncle Sam as the guarantor of our defence.
The RAF has basically got sufficient Typhoons to police UK airspace, it’s a struggle to generate 12 aircraft for deployment.
The Army is realistically not looking to deploy more than 3,500 at a time anymore. A long standing deployment above that number and it will start to hurt.
Hence new creations like the Rangers, they are more about small scale Special operations ( first and second tier) these days than Green Army mass boots on the ground, it’s where the enthesis is now.
The Navy has the carriers, but support shipping RN/ RFA is barely capable of creating a task group that doesn’t mean stressing the fleet and leaving potential tasking gaps elsewhere.
Absolutely bled dry, It’s utterly shameful…
What he said.
yep I bet we loved having Finland join- “what else does that allow us to cut “
It’s hard to see what’s left to cut really, nothing left to trim, meat has already been cut to the bone…
Only MBT’s and Amphibious capability.
Now tranche one Typhoons are going too, will that really leave the the RAF with four squadrons of Thypoons and one joint F35 squadron.
John.
There are currently 8 front line fast jet Sqns, excluding OCUs.
As far as I’m aware 7 Typhoon Sqns will remain until more F35 Sqns stand up, despite T1 withdrawal.
The 2nd F35 Sqn makes 9.
If a 3rd F35 Sqn forms and even a 4th, which was the original aspiration, Typhoon Sqns might then drop to 5, and after further as Tempest, if it ever arrives, comes in.
Afternoon Daniele,
Thanks for your clarification mate. It’s very hard to see how a force of 7 squadrons can be sustained with the loss of 30 airframes .
I suppose I am assuming 12 airframes per squadron, perhaps it’s going to 8 or 9 in a slight of hand…..
I find it incredible that the world is rapidly destabilising and the Government is effectively doing little better than nothing….
A vague promise of 2.5% GDP on defence, one day, perhaps, maybe. Labour is just as bad, no firm commitment.
So what’s the plan, just threaten to nuke people, hard to see anything we can do, a strongly worded letter perhaps, expressing our disappointment at an aggressor…
Perhaps a peace in our time note to flutter in the air at Heathrow airport…..
Hi JC, I agree with everything that you say in relation to the Canberra class and the future use of the RMs.
However, two or three Canberra class ships for the RN should not be used for the RMs but for battle groups from the British Army, one battle group per LHD with RM support either coming from the T32s (Damen Crossover type each with 120 RMs) and-or the Multi Role Support Ships each with 250 RMs. The Aussies use the LHDs in this way with 3 Brigade forming the Amphibious Force
This Brigade would be larger than a normal Brigade as it would be made up of seven Battle Groups, two based around the CH2/3m each with 14 MBTs plus 42-80 IFVs, 3 M270s and 8 AS-90s, Low level air defence section, Long range anti tank section, Eng and Sig unit and a mortar/machine gun troop. Not to forget logistic troops, total number would be about 700 troops. Two based on Ajax and three based on Boxer. Depending then what type of force is needed would then dictate which Battle Group to embark.
With the intergrated air wing of 6 F35Bs, 6 Apaches and 10 Merlins these LHDs would become important tools in power projection.
I keep trying to explain that when soilders go on board ships they should at least know the basics of ship operations to be able to assist in damage control, fire fighting safety aspects etc. It would give the Army a Brigade strength sea assault capability much in the same way as they have a dedicated airborne assault Brigade in the Para Regts.
Royal Marines should be used for raiding, recon etc and support for large assault formations.
We should also remember that a LHD could if correctly designed operating in other fields as well, for an example they could operate as convoy escort carriers, anti submarine helicopter carriers operating with two T26s as a ASW flagship, heavy humanitarian support. However, I would prefer an ASW helicopter cruiser for the ASW role which would be my choice for the T83.
Great post Ron, before Russia took us back to the Future and decided to turn the clock back and fight the great patriotic war again ( the Russians being the Nazis this time), I had high hopes that we would start rebuilding expeditionary warfare capability again.
I’m slightly jaded these days, I’ve realised all our politicians really don’t care, to a level I didn’t think was possible, but there it is, Europe is staring down the barrel of a short ass madman’s gun ( again), the situation in the Indo Pacific is getting worse by the day, but defence is literally left gutted with no meaningful response.
We better hope Uncle Sam rides to the rescue, because our shite Government ( and the clueless idiots in waiting) won’t protect us…
That moan aside, a modified Canberra class would be a fantastic asset for the RN, a truly capable light carrier able to be re- rolled from Amphibious assault, to escort carrier, hospital ship, evacuation asset, disaster relief etc, etc, a sort of HMS Ocean but on steroids.
I would just ensure Puma replacement was suitable for maritime tasking, a pool of 40 odd medium helicopters, coupled with Melin and Chinook, would give fantastic capability.
Must be tempting to let the LPD capability fade away. You would free up 650 crew….
I’m not sure if this is on topic but one I thing I really don’t understand is the new “Raiding” concept for the RM’s. It makes zero sense in a modern context where radars, drones etc make it impossible for surface vessels to stealthily approach coastlines and anti-ship missiles are so dangerous. The RM ships are hardly stealthy, they have the RCS of a skyscraper.
The only raiding that is going to get done, against anyone more capable than a bunch of pirates, is going to be done by the SBS from submarines.
It’s because the RN has the budget for either Carrier Strike or Amphib – it actually offered up the RM as a saving for the last IR… but obviously couldn’t be seen to actually cut them!
So the compromise is Future Commando Force – which has a fraction of the actual cost of replacing amphibious shipping, and as a bonus looks really cool.
Spot on…..
Basically a simple cut to end RM Brigade level operations, but hidden behind a shiny catchy new tag line, fancy new uniforms and new rifles….
We are going to be a bit part player from now on, increasingly sidelined in NATO, while countries like Poland step up to the bar.
I suppose it means the next ‘Tony Blair’ sort can’t get us involved in faraway never ending wars, if we have nothing to fight with….
Perhaps that’s a positive??
Bit of a problem if Russia invades the High North or there’s a Falklands style situation.
I totally agree, it’s a shame our politicians couldn’t give a toss…..
With you John and others here. Those that don’t give a toss should be “tossed out”! Somehow. The Ukraine/Russia conflict and other tension areas would definitely be focusing people’s minds, budgets and surely actual needed requirements. And Mr BW is still in the house and other like minded people. It’s can’t be all bad.