RFA Argus Completes SLEP

I thought a nautical diversion might provide a welcome break from talk of Army formations and mortars.

RFA Argus has just completed her £23 million Service Life Extension Programme. Completed with little fanfare at A&P’s Falmouth facility, the refit included new medical equipment including the latest advances in CT scanning equipment, used to assess casualties by 3D X-ray imagery, as well as new sterilising kit.

The ship’s environmental credentials have received a boost with a state of the art bioreactor that uses microbial action to process sewage, while new refrigeration and air conditioning plants that use more environmentally friendly refrigerant gases have been installed.

The accommodation and mess facilities have also been modernised, to improve living standards for both crew and patients.

Good news, a replacement would have been nicer though

Haiti Update

RFA Largs Bay has recently arrived in Haiti with its cargo of Land Rovers and wriggly tin.

Operation PANLAKE involves various teams and resources and RFA Largs Bay will stay in the area supporting the UN.

Continuing our obsession with Mexeflotes some pictures from the Royal Navy

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FDR – Maritime (Repair and other Support Capabilities)

This is the final post in our FDR Maritime section and I have decided to go ‘off piste’ with some hair brain schemes and mad ideas, don’t take this one too seriously but treat it as a discussion piece.

We asked about naval innovation in a previous post and there are a some superb maritime focussed blogs like New Wars, Information Dissemination, CDR Salamander, Eagle Speak and G Captain that do a great job looking at what some might call revolutionary concepts, some even more hair brain than of ours!

The Royal Navy has rather a proud tradition of breaking the mould but as equipment became significantly more expensive and budgets increasingly restricted the opportunity for innovation has gradually reduced. The UK has had various dabbles with unusual designs, for example the RV Triton and several of the early CVF illustrations showed pentamaran hull forms. Other nations have taken various ‘anything but mono hull’ concepts forward including the US, China and Norway. Interesting concepts include the Stiletto, DDG (1000), Sea Slice, Sea Shadow and Sea Fighter (designed by our BMT), HSV-X1 Joint Venture and the US Army HSV-2 Swift.

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FDR – Maritime (At Sea Replenishment)

The Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability (MARS) project has had more lives than a whole herd of cats, on, off and on again. Most of the indecision has been driven by cost issues and delays around the CVF. Originally intended to replace the existing replenishment ships and provide a joint sea based logistics capability, the sea basing concept seemed all the rage in the US so as usual, the UK followed.

The RFA logistics capability is a vital enabler; it does not attract much attention and certainly does not have the glamour of a sleek warship but make no mistake, the RN would simply not be able to operate without them.

It is a capability we neglect at our peril.
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