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Subreddit Icon r/WarshipPorn •Posted by u/_Tegan_Quin 3 days ago The Pounds Yard Portsmouth (now closed) with the old Whale Island Gate guard (Twin 4.5 inch naval gun turret) – next to Tipner, Portsmouth, England, United Kingdom.

 

The old (twin 4,5 inch inch naval guns) used in the Type 12, 12M ,12 i, Leander-class frigates, County-class destroyers, other frigates and old Daring class destroyers of the British Royal Navy.

The Daring-class destroyers were both the largest and most heavily armed ships serving in British Commonwealth navies to be classified as destroyers.

They were intended to fill some of the duties of cruisers, which post-Second World War. were considered both expensive and obsolete by British naval planners, and the ships were briefly officially considered a hybrid type (Darings) before being rated as destroyers. They were also the last destroyers of the Royal Navt and Royal Australian Navy to have guns as their main armament (instead of guided missile systems), which the ships use during the Indonesian Confrontation from January 20th 1963 to August 11th, 1966, and the Vietnam War.

The Daring-class destroyers were in service in the British Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy, from the 1950s to the 1980s. Following decommissioning, two British Darings were sold to the Peruvian Navy, which operated one ship until 1993 and the other until 2007. One ship of the class is preserved: the HMAS Vampire as a museum ship at the Australian National Maritime Museum.

Photo source – https://x.com/awenham1/status/1737066300596224476?s=46

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Photos – More than 6,500 sailors and marines stand guard this Christmas to keep us safe and secure 22 December 2023

Royal Navy sailors and Royal Marines stand in harm’s way this Christmas to guarantee global security and prosperity.

Crew of destroyer HMS Diamond face the clear and present danger of drone attacks fired by Houthi rebels at shipping in the Red Sea – a danger now faced down by more than half a dozen navies on Operation Prosperity Guardian, whose vessels are watching over merchant ships like the shepherds of Christmas lore.

Diamond’s sailors are just 200 of some 6,500 Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Fleet Air Arm and Royal Fleet Auxiliary personnel – roughly one in five members of the Naval Service – either deployed or on standby to respond to incidents at home and abroad during Christmas 2023.

Of those, 4,700 are regular or reservist sailors, submariners and Fleet Air Arm personnel, plus nearly 1,150 Royal Marines and over 700 sailors in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, the vital support arm of the fighting fleet.

Many of the latter are deployed in the eastern Mediterranean aboard aviation support vessel RFA Argus and amphibious support ship RFA Lyme Bay as part of the UK’s response to the crisis in Israel/Gaza.

The tense situation in the Middle East as the year ends has not only required a response from the Royal Navy but brings down the curtain on a year when the Service has, once again, been heavily engaged in all seven oceans. Other achievements of 2023 include:

  • Two new RFA ships delivered (Proteus and Stirling Castle) to help secure UK waters;
  • The fifth Astute-class submarine HMS Anson delivered and now undergoing operational training;
  • The capacity of Ukraine’s Navy continues to grow thanks to training from our sailors and Royal Marines;
  • The two Littoral Response Groups, central to future Commando Force operations, have been deployed to the Baltic and eastern Mediterranean;
  • The engine enhancements to the Type 45s are progressing well;
  • HMS Prince of Wales returned to the fleet and completed aviation trials;
  • HMS Queen Elizabeth provided NATO with the potential of fifth-generation carrier striking power for the first time.

The patrol ship closes out 2023 around the islands of the South Pacific, having begun it in Malaysia and conducted visits, exercises and patrols from the eastern coast of India to Sydney in the intervening 11 months.

They are marking Christmas – dressed in T-shirts and shorts as it’s the height of summer in the Southern Hemisphere – with Cornish-themed gifts donated by their affiliates at Cornwall County Council as well as presents from families.

The ship – which was recently singled out by senior officers for its efforts both promoting the UK and Royal Navy across a vast area and extensive work with allied and partner navies in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region – has offered its sailors unique personal and professional opportunities, representing the nation at high-profile diplomatic and military events, through to hosting Trafalgar Night celebrations in Sydney Harbour, diving on the Great Barrier Reef and touring the tea plantations of Sri Lanka on tuk-tuks.

“We’ve been proud to fly the White Ensign in some extraordinary locations,” said her Executive Officer Lieutenant Commander Matt Millyard.

The patrol ship is one of five deployed around the globe on long-term missions, performing a role and asserting an influence far greater than one might expect from 45 or 50 sailors in a relatively small vessel.

All remain deployed over Christmas: HMS Spey in Singapore for her end of year maintenance; HMS Medway is in Gibraltar receiving the same TLC after nine months patrolling the Falklands, which are now patrolled once again by HMS Forth; and HMS Trent is in the Caribbean working with US authorities in the ongoing fight against drug trafficking.

Icebreaker and research ship HMS Protector is the next farthest flung vessel from home – about 8,500 miles – as she conducts her first work period of the austral summer around the Antarctic peninsula.

Elsewhere, aside from HMS Diamond, the Royal Navy maintains a sizeable presence in the Gulf: frigate HMS Lancaster, which is supporting wider efforts in the region to ensure the safe and free flow of trade by sea, plus minehunters HMS Chiddingfold, Middleton and Bangor, their command/support ship RFA Cardigan Bay and the RN’s headquarters east of Suez, UKMCC in Bahrain.

In the mid-Atlantic HMS Scott is gathering deep water oceanic data to update existing charts.

The couple of dozen personnel of the Gibraltar Squadron and fast patrol boats HMS Cutlass and Dagger are keeping an eye on the waters of the Rock and the western gateway to the Mediterranean.

And, as ever, since Christmas 1969, there is a Royal Navy submarine carrying the nation’s nuclear deterrent on patrol somewhere beneath the waves.

Thanking personnel for their efforts – and families and friends for the ongoing support – throughout 2023 First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Ben Key said everyone could reflect “with enormous pride” on their achievements and contributions to the Navy’s global mission this year.

“I don’t think any one of us had quite predicted just how much and how busy we would be around the world,” he said.

“It has been a phenomenal year of delivery for the service, from the very highest to the lowest latitudes of the world and across all lines of longitude once again.”

He continued: “For those who are holding the watch over the Christmas period and away from your loved ones, thank you for being there.

“And for all, whether at home or away, on duty or on leave, please pass the thanks of me and the senior leadership team of the Service to your family and your friends.”

For those who are holding the watch over the Christmas period and away from your loved ones, thank you for being there

First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Ben Key

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HMS BangorHMS ChiddingfoldHMS DiamondHMS ForthHMS LancasterHMS MedwayHMS MiddletonHMS ProtectorHMS ScottHMS SpeyHMS TamarHMS TrentCasualty Ship (RFA Argus)RFA Cardigan BayRFA Lyme BayFleet Air Ar

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Missing in action? Lack of Aussie presence in Red Sea raises concerning questions – GEOPOLITICS & POLICY 20 DECEMBER 2023 | By: Stephen Kuper

Opinion: Australia’s refusal to deploy a warship to support the multinational effort to secure global maritime trade corridors has rightfully raised a few eyebrows. Concerningly, it reinforces serious questions about the Australian Defence Force’s capacity to actively defend our interests in the Indo-Pacific.

I feel like a bit of a broken record, constantly reminding people that our world has rapidly changed and it definitely hasn’t been for the better.

Just in the last quarter of this year, we have seen the rapid deterioration of the global security paradigm and the position of the United States as the world’s pre-eminent superpower responsible for maintaining global prosperity and stability.

Nowhere is this clearer than in the ongoing collapse of global maritime security in the Middle East, which, despite the presence of overwhelming military might from the US and a coalition of partners ranging from the United Kingdom, France and Japan to the small island nation of Seychelles, continues to decline.

Noticeably absent from the global coalition is America’s “loyal deputy”, Australia, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese reportedly denying a request from the US to provide a warship, instead highlighting Australia’s primary focus was on our immediate region.

Now, many will say rightfully so, and I do agree, except this government has proudly declared that Australia’s “strategic doctrine” moving forward would be based on a concept of “impactful projection” in the Indo-Pacific, as we are repeatedly reminded by the Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles, who said earlier in the year:

“I think, increasingly, we’re going to need to think about our defence force in terms of being able to provide the country with impactful projection, impactful projection, meaning an ability to hold an adversary at risk, much further from our shores, across kind of the full spectrum of proportionate response. Now, that is actually a different mindset to what we’ve probably had before.”

With that in mind, why then have we declined the US request to provide a warship to support the multinational effort to secure critical sea lines of communication through the Middle East, and what does it say about our capacity to enforce “impactful projection”?

To my eyes, it reveals a startling lack of “true” defence capability at a time when the world is becoming more dangerous, not less.

Something Greg Sheridan highlights in The Australian, where he states: “Not for decades have we been so radically unprepared militarily, and incapable, as we are now.”

“There is one overriding reason we can’t send a ship. None of the 10 operational surface fleet vessels we allegedly have available (seven Anzac frigates currently operational and three air warfare destroyers) has any counter-drone defence capabilities …

“The other reason we can’t send a ship is we don’t have enough crew. One of our notional eight Anzacs is more or less permanently mothballed. The ADF has been losing personnel at more than 10 per cent a year and radically underperforming in recruitment. We couldn’t sustain even a one-ship deployment in the Red Sea indefinitely.”

Yet for the Australian public, this reality is all a bit “eh”.

Don’t believe me? I invite you to raise it with your family and friends over the Christmas and New Year period and report back in the comments section.

Ask your family and friends, do they have home and contents insurance – because that is what our nation’s defence force is for.

Ask your family and friends, have they made use of the internet, mobile banking or travelled overseas – because that is what our nation’s defence force is for.

Ask your family and friends, have they purchased a new car, used prescription medication or even used fertiliser in their garden – because that is what our nation’s defence force is for.

Ask your family and friends, would they miss their Sunday drives, cheap consumer goods, luxury cars and steady access to life-saving medication – because if they say yes, that is what our nation’s defence force is for.

With that in mind, I have a challenge for all of us in the new year: It is to remind people, without being alarmist or “reactionary”, that our modern way of life in this “lucky country” depends now more than ever on having a robust, lethal and deployable military.

Get involved with the discussion and let us know your thoughts on Australia’s future role and position in the Indo-Pacific region and what you would like to see from Australia’s political leaders in terms of partisan and bipartisan agenda setting in the comments section below, or get in touch at [email protected] or at [email protected].

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Quarter-billion dollar superyacht berths in Northland Wed, Dec 20

The 80-metre superyacht Artefact, owned by Canadian tech entrepreneur Mike Lazaridis, arrives in the Bay of Islands.

The 80-metre superyacht Artefact, owned by Canadian tech entrepreneur Mike Lazaridis, arrives in the Bay of Islands. (Source: rnz.co.nz)

One of the world’s most exclusive superyachts has berthed in the Northland port of Ōpua for a two-week stay.

The 80-metre Artefact is owned by Canadian tech entrepreneur Mike Lazaridis, best known for creating the BlackBerry mobile device.

Built in Germany in 2020 at an estimated cost of $240 million and named Motor Yacht of the Year in 2021, Artefact is one of the world’s biggest superyachts by volume.

It is also believed to be the biggest motor yacht to visit the Bay of Islands.

The vessel arrived just after 1pm on Tuesday and was piloted to Ōpua wharf by the harbourmaster vessel Waikare.

Artefact is expected to stay in the Bay of Islands until New Year’s Day.

It boasts a hybrid diesel-electric propulsion system, a range of 5300 nautical miles and a crew of 17, including two chefs and a sous chef.

The 80-metre superyacht Artefact berths at Ōpua wharf.

The 80-metre superyacht Artefact berths at Ōpua wharf. (Source: rnz.co.nz)

The vessel is notable for the sheer amount of glass on the passenger decks – 70 tonnes of glass went into its construction – and interior features such as a high-ceilinged tai chi room designed so that practitioners of the martial art can hold a sword above their heads.

Lazaridis, 62, was born in Turkey to Greek parents, who moved to Canada when he was a child. At the age of 12, he won a prize for reading every science book in the library at Windsor, his home town in Ontario.

After founding BlackBerry, he went on to specialise in quantum computing. He has donated large sums of money to theoretical physics research.

When Lazaridis was nominated as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2014, he was described as the father of what later became known as the smartphone.

It was not known whether he was on board when Artefact docked on Tuesday afternoon.

Even superyachts need to get Customs clearance.

Even superyachts need to get Customs clearance. (Source: rnz.co.nz)

Irwin Wilson, commercial manager of port authority Far North Holdings, said the visit of the “magnificent” vessel was a sign of the Bay of Islands’ post-Covid recovery and a bumper season on the water.

Artefact was joined in the bay on Tuesday by the boutique cruise ship Crystal Symphony, one of a record 93 cruise ships expected this season.

Though many more small cruise ships were calling in this year, the number of passengers would also be a record as long as there were no cancellations due to weather or other factors this year.

The season would ramp up after January 18 with three ships on one day on 31 January. The biggest ship, Ovation of the Seas with 4180 passengers, was due back on February 12.

Wilson said cruise ships played an important role in the economy of the Bay of Islands, and Northland, because they brought “fresh money” into the region rather than just the money locals recycling among themselves.

With each passenger spending on average $180 on shore, that added up to $23m this season, he said.

By Peter de Graaf of rnz.co.nz

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US flies bombers for joint drills with South Korea, Japan – By Hyung-Jin Kim, The Associated Press Dec 21, 08:00 AM

 

In this photo provided by South Korea Defense Ministry, U.S. Air Force B-1B bombers, F-16 fighter jets, South Korean Air Force F-15K fighter jets and Japanese Air Force F-2 fighter jets fly over South Korea’s southern island of Jeju during a joint air drill, Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023. (South Korea Defense Ministry via AP)

SEOUL, South Korea — The United States flew long-range bombers for joint drills with South Korea and Japan on Wednesday in a show of force against North Korea, days after the North performed its first intercontinental ballistic missile test in five months.

The trilateral training off South Korea’s southern island of Jeju was meant to strengthen the countries’ joint response against North Korean nuclear threats, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The exercise involved B-1B bombers and South Korean and Japanese fighter jets, the statement said. It said the B-1Bs’ flyover is the 13th time that a U.S. bomber has been temporarily deployed near and over the Korean Peninsula this year.

The B-1B is capable of carrying a large conventional weapons payload. North Korean has previously called the bomber’s deployment a proof of U.S. hostility and had reacted with missile tests.

North Korea on Monday launched a Hwasong-18 ICBM into the sea in a drill it said was meant as a warning over the U.S. and South Korea’s confrontational steps. North Korea cited a recent U.S.-South Korean meeting to discuss their nuclear deterrence plans.

The U.S., South Korea and Japan slammed the launch as a provocation, noting it violated multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions that ban any ballistic activities by the North.

The Hwasong-18, a solid-fueled missile, is the North’s newest and most advanced ICBM. Its built-in solid propellant makes launches harder to detect than liquid-fueled missiles, which must be fueled for liftoffs. Monday’s launch is the Hwasong-18′s third firing this year.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the launch showed how North Korea could respond if the United States were to make “a wrong decision against it.” But many foreign experts say the North still has technological obstacles to overcome to possess functioning nuclear-armed ICBM that can hit the continental U.S.

Since last year, North Korea has conducted about 100 ballistic missile tests in what outside experts call a bid to modernize its nuclear arsenal and win greater U.S. concessions. In response, the U.S. and South Korea expanded their military drills, strengthened security cooperation with Japan and increased the temporary deployment of powerful U.S. military assets such as bombers and nuclear-powered submarines in South Korea.

Despite its torrid run of ballistic missile tests, North Korea has avoided new international sanctions as China and Russia, both permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, stymied any council responses to the North’s testing activities. In an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting Tuesday over the North’s ICBM launch, North Korean and Russian diplomats clashed with U.S., South Korean and other diplomats.

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USS Ford to remain in the Mediterranean Sea amid Israel-Hamas war – By Lolita C. Baldor and Tara Copp, The Associated Press Dec 19, 10:34 AM

 

The aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford, arrives in Halifax on Oct. 28, 2022. (Andrew Vaughan/The Canadian Press via AP, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford and one other warship to remain in the Mediterranean Sea for several more weeks to maintain a two-carrier presence near Israel as its war with Hamas grinds on, U.S. officials said.

It would be the third time the Ford’s deployment has been extended, underscoring the continued concerns about volatility in the region during Israel’s war in Gaza. The U.S. has two aircraft carriers in the region, a rarity in recent years.

Multiple U.S. officials confirmed the longer deployments approved for the Ford and the cruiser Normandy on condition of anonymity because they have not yet been made public. Other ships in the Ford’s strike group already have had their deployments extended.

The Ford’s roughly 5,000 sailors have been waiting for a Pentagon decision on whether they would get to go home for the holidays. The ship left Norfolk, Virginia, in early May to deploy to U.S. European Command, and under its original schedule it would have been home by early November.

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The Pentagon ramped up its military presence in the region after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks to deter Iran from widening the war into a regional conflict. In the months since, Iranian-backed militants in Iraq and Syria have seized on the war to conduct regular attacks with rockets, drones and missiles on U.S. military installations there.

At the same time, U.S. warships in the Red Sea have intercepted incoming missiles fired toward Israel from areas of Yemen controlled by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. They’ve also shot down one-way attack drones headed toward the ships and responded to calls for assistance from commercial vessels that have come under persistent Houthi attacks near the narrow Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

As of Friday, there were 19 U.S. warships in the region, including seven in the eastern Mediterranean and 12 more stretched down the Red Sea, across the Arabian Sea and up into the Persian Gulf.

Austin ordered the Ford and its strike group to sail to the eastern Mediterranean on Oct. 8, a day after the attack by Hamas that set off the war.

The decision to keep the Ford — the Navy’s newest aircraft carrier — in the region comes as Israel’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant, said Thursday it will take months to destroy Hamas, predicting a drawn-out war.

U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met with Israeli leaders to discuss a timetable for winding down major combat in Gaza, but they repeated their determination to press the fight until Hamas is crushed.

The original plan was for the Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier strike group to replace the Ford in the region. But Austin had decided to extend the Ford’s deployment and have both the Eisenhower and Ford covering the waters from southern Europe to the Middle East, Sabrina Singh, in a Pentagon briefing on Oct. 17.

U.S. military commanders have long touted the effectiveness of American aircraft carriers as a deterrent, including against attacks, hijackings and other aggressive behavior by Iran and its ships, including strikes on commercial ships in the Red Sea by the Houthis.

Officials said the plan is to keep the Ford there for several more weeks.

The Eisenhower is in the Gulf of Oman and has been patrolling in the Middle East along with the Navy cruiser Philippine Sea. Three warships — the Nay destroyers Carney, the Stethem and the Mason — have been moving through the Bab el-Mandeb daily to help deter and respond to attacks from the Houthis.

Other ships that are part of the Ford’s strike group include the destroyers Thomas Hudner, Ramage, Carney and Roosevelt.

While the U.S. regularly maintained two aircraft carriers in the Middle East during the height of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, in recent years it has tried to turn its attention and naval presence to the Asia Pacific.

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