GLOBAL REACH
HMS Explorer HMS Example 17(R) TES
814 NAS HMS Daring
Gibraltar Squadron HMS Echo
UKMCC JEF(M) HMS Monmouth HMS Chiddingfold HMS Middleton HMS Bangor HMS Penzance COMUKMCMFOR
Training or on patrol around the UK HMS Sutherland HMS Northumberland HMS Pembroke HMS Severn RFA Fort Rosalie RFA Wave Ruler HMS Richmond
HMS HMS HMS HMS HMS HMS
Tyne Argyll Westminster Diamond Dragon Hurworth
820 NAS FASLANE ROSYTH HMS Gannet
HMS Protector RFA Wave Knight NEFI
PORTSMOUTH YEOVILTON DEVONPORT CULDROSE HMS King Alfred
MASF Naval Party 1022 RFA Fort Victoria RFA Lyme Bay Naval Party 1023 814 NAS 845 NAS/FS Mistral 849 NAS Forward Support Unit
HMS Clyde Plus one strategic missile and undisclosed Fleet submarines on patrol somewhere beneath the Seven Seas
This map is a depiction of many, though not all, of the Royal Navy’s commitments over the past month
FLEET FOCUS Protecting our nation’s interests
SICILY is our first port of call this month as we report on the two aircrews from 814 and 829 NAS who took their Merlin helicopters to join a ten-ship NATO task force for an anti-submarine exercise (see pages 14-15). Back to the UK and pilots and aircrew from 820 NAS decamped to Scotland to prepare for their role guarding HMS Queen Elizabeth (see centre pages). A Merlin from the Flying Fish squadron is due to become the very first to land on the carrier’s deck when trials begin. In Lancashire, a new simulator is helping RN and RAF F-35B pilots land the new strike fighter on HMS Queen Elizabeth’s vast deck (see page 13) ahead of doing it for real. Staying in the skies, and RFA Wave Ruler’s Navigating Officer 2/O James Wright, joined Falcons and Hawks for an exercise in which they simulated sinking the FOST tanker (see page 11). Two Junglie Merlins from Commando Helicopter Force’s 845 NAS are making their operational debuts aboard the FS Mistral (see page 17) as the French ship heads for Vietnam on the French Navy’s key Jeanne d’Arc deployment. Wildcat airmen from 815 NAS are to make history (see page 6) by joining a German warship, first for its training off Plymouth, then on an overseas deployment. Back down to earth, or water, and HMS Enterprise returned home to Devonport (see pages 2-3) following an epic 35-month deployment around the globe. Weeks earlier, more than 2,000 loved ones gathered at Plymouth to welcome home Fleet Flagship HMS Ocean (see opposite) following her six-month tour of duty in the Med and Gulf. Making her debut in the UK was the newest addition to the British Fleet, RFA Tidespring (see page 7) as the 39,000-tonne tanker arrived in Falmouth for the final stages of fitting out. P2000s HMS Example and Explorer have been enjoying an epic Easter deployment (see page 22) to Europe, giving officer cadets a taste of life at sea. HMS Protector completed her final ice patrol of the Austral summer in Antarctica (see page 21) but will return later in the year. The next chapter in the history of HMS Westminster has begun with the frigate’s rededication in Portsmouth following a major refit (see page 21) while her sister Montrose has welcomed crew aboard for the first time in over 12 months (see page 7). How to deal with the threat of cyber warfare (see right) was the theme of Exercise Information Warrior (see pages 18-19) which saw Royal Marines from 30 Cdo IX Group demonstrate what they can bring to the present-day battlefield. Royal Marines from 45 Cdo marched through Arbroath to mark their 45-year association with the Angus town (see page 20). Three of the most hallowed sites in Royal Navy history – the remains of HMS Hogue, Aboukir and Cressy – have been given special protection by the government (see page 23). They are among 14 Great War vessels added to the list covered by the 1986 Protection of Military Remains Act. Last month marked the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Arras – one of the more successful Allied ventures in the Great War – which involved Naval aviators and sailor-soldiers of the RN Division, whose sacrifices were remembered by reservists from HMS King Alfred on a battlefield tour (see page 26). And finally... One dozen personnel from RNAS Culdrose made the long journey to Ascension Island (see page 29) for a two-week scuba diving trip, Exercise Black Fish.
Leading the charge in cyber warfare l The Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft IN the latest of our monthly features on the future of the Royal Navy, we look at maritime power in the information age.
We are living in a datadriven age, in which the conventional and unconventional are increasingly blurred.
Today, the threat we face at sea could come from an enemy submarine 100 miles away or a sophisticated hacking operation on the other side of the world. Meanwhile, our adversaries are already exploring the boundaries of Information Warfare in a way that is greater in scale and agility than anything we can currently muster. We must be ready to respond in kind – and fast. This may feel new, but the Royal Navy has always been a pioneer in the digital realm, from the famous Admiralty cryptologists of Room 40 in World War 1, through to the development of the world’s first programmable computer – Colossus – which was operated by the Women’s Royal Naval Service. Now, as we reshape the Fleet and the Royal Marines around a new generation of ships, submarines and aircraft, the Royal Navy is ideally positioned to project power and influence into cyberspace, just as we do at sea, over the land, in the air and in space. Our aim is simple: to establish
the Royal Navy as a leading advocate, innovator and practitioner of Information Warfare, within the UK Armed Forces and among our Allies. Last month’s Exercise Information Warrior was our most ambitious attempt yet to identify existing capabilities that can be delivered into service quickly and to establish a lasting network of partners from academia and industry who will help keep us ahead of the curve in the future. However, the challenge and opportunity of the Information Age is so much more than cyber; it’s about the growth of data that is changing the way we live and work, and will change how we fight too. The new F-35B Joint Strike Fighter and the Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft will present commanders with astonishing levels of information, in real time, and yet this is nothing compared to what is to come. Autonomous systems and distributed networks of sensors are fast becoming a reality and within the 50-year lifespan of our new aircraft carriers developments in quantum
computing, currently still in its i n f a n c y, could herald astonishing advances. Data on this scale is a raw material: it is how we collect, handle and exploit it that will determine our fighting edge. Many of the UK’s most significant military operations are conducted in partnership, and the need to work more closely together will grow as allied navies contribute people and ships to the Royal Navy’s Carrier Strike Group and as the future Type 31e General Purpose frigates are based overseas. So we must develop the connectivity and bandwidth to share large volumes of information within a multinational operating environment, together with the shared instincts and mutual trust required to deliver integrated military effect. Within this complex and fast moving battle-space, our greatest asset will be the ability to think
and act decisively, which is why the Royal Navy is also exploring the use of machine-learning algorithms and artificial intelligence to aid decision-making. Impressive as this technology may be, the human touch will remain crucial. Within this new domain there is a particular role for Royal Marines, skilled as they are in Information Exploitation, and for the Maritime Reserves with their existing specialisations in areas like intelligence and media operations. However, the hunt for talent may also lead us to people who do not fit the usual military mould, and we must work with industry to steer more young people toward a career in computing, networking and cyber security. Put simply, if the cry at Trafalgar was to “engage the enemy more closely”, then today we must do so digitally. The Royal Navy stands ready to lead the charge. n Information Warrior, pages 18-19
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: MAY 2017
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