The Royal Navy say here that the vessel used her time in Australia to work with the Royal Australian Navy and share training and experiences of being an overseas patrol vessel deployed from the UK for up to five years.
“Alongside her sister ship HMS Tamar, Spey is the Royal Navy’s permanent presence in the Indo-Pacific region and lessons learned from her maiden deployment were shared with the crews of HMAS Arafura and HMAS Wollongong. The Australian patrol ships carry out tasks similar to that of Spey and Arafura’s commanding officer and several Royal Australian Navy officers spent time on the British ship.”
Lieutenant Gareth Senior, Marine Engineer Officer on HMS Spey, was quoted as saying:
“It was good to have our Royal Australian Counterparts on board and give them the opportunity to explore our ship and department. It gave them an opportunity to see what their future offshore patrol vessels will be like and also share experiences of operating in the South Pacific region.”
You can read more on this from the Royal Navy here.
Another lot of great work from the navy on the other side of the world. Hopefully the navy will get some more pictures of the rivers in the pacific soon. Maybe some nice island shots, big seas etc.
MS, Pure genius! The copy for the next RN recruiting campaign practically writes itself! Photos of Tamar and Spey docked in exotic South Sea and AUS/NZ ports of call (e.g. Tahiti, etc.), Trent in the Med (e.g. anywhere on the Riviera, Spanish coastline, etc.) and the OPV (name?) assigned to the Carribean (take your pick, like shooting fish in a barrel). Be certain to include significant footage of beach hardbodies and concern re recruiting quotas should be permanently in the rearview mirror! 😉 Actually, just realized any blue water navy has an inherent advantage over other services in terms of… Read more »
Sounds daft but that dazzle scheme makes the Rivers look a bit ‘meaner’.
Please don’t use the term “meaner” to trigger yourself about its lack of meanness (lack of lots of big guns and missiles).
Know what you mean. The paint job sends a message, ‘ in case you were wondering, I am a warship’. Love it.👍
Think they might be already meaner than the Aussies vessels they’re exercising with.
Yes, but not as heavily armed as their successors which will, it seems have a 40mm https://www.navy.gov.au/fleet/ships-boats-craft/future/opv
Actually their successors are getting 25mm cannon as an interim, the 40mm having been cancelled.
Interesting. Thx. 80m, 2x50cal, crane, 25mm, 2 diesels, flight deck but no hangar.….River Batch 1.5? They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery 😉 An upgrade in sea keeping and able to give more humanitarian help, better endurance. Good move by the Australians.
The 25mm is interim, only temporary until another 40mm is selected.
From what I understand the 40mm originally selected wasn’t what it was advertised to be, so it was canned.
Hopefully it’s only the first few ships that end up with the 25mm from the retiring Armidale class PBs before they receive the permanent main gun.
We want CAMM and 57mm and a 40mm and at least 8 heavyweight anti ship missiles…. these things need to out fight a carrier battle group.
Sounds like you want a B2 -> T31 conversion kit? I could understand if post T31 RN standardised on 40mm that change makes sense and adding 6 Sea Ceptor makes sense for Gulf activities where ranges are short and the radar horizon is fine. Adding much more and it is a frigate lite…..which will only reduce the pressure to build T32 fast. What we need are more T31/32 with VLS to give the fleet mass and teeth. This is all very well for flag waving and anti drugs / piracy etc but is a pure place keeper in terms of… Read more »
To be honest, I would not even stick a 40mm on one of these. That starts to make it look I bit to warship like, then you get the RN asked to do just that little bit more with it ( it’s got a medium gun you knowI think some form of retractable/telescopic/temp hanger would be useful for If they are needed for the North Atlantic tasking ( a small ship flight is good for disaster support and chasing drug smugglers). Other than that that I can see them having use when more autonomous platforms come on line. As you… Read more »
And 32 hypersonic ballistic missiles, 4 laser guns, 6 F35b and full hanger, 24 naval strike missiles, a Sampson radar mast, towed array, 8 heavyweight torpedo launchers, 2 x 5 inch guns, 12 tomahawks and a fart gun
And a partridge in a pear tree…
Hey, you stole my first response to proposed (presumably in best) conversion kit! 😂😁
Yes all that..apart from the fart gun, I think you will find those less than lethal weapons can be a legal nightmare.
Hi Mr Spanner Do the navy have access to army weapons…. Could an anti tank missile be launched from a B2…Javelin fired from the rear deck …. Thanks Ian
You forgot superfiring 16” triple gun turrets.
Personally I think the Japanese had the right idea and go with 18inch guns.
Hell, we have a couple of Iowa class BBs, which are either floating museums or rusting in storage…could make you a one time, good deal. 😁. Would be suitable for proposed conversion kit. Imagine the look on the next pirate”s face when facing nine 16 inch guns.
All 4 are very well maintained as museums, but could come out of retirement, hell Missouri took on Aliens lol..
Nah, we fell for that before with lend/lease… you buggers still have Ascension and DG (sort of). 😉
HMAS Arafura and HMAS Wollongong?? Something is a bit off in this article.
Yes HMAS Wollongong, an Armidale class patrol boat, is in commission, but Arafura, lead ship of the Arafura class OPVs is still fitting out in Adelaide.
And as a yet to be commissioned RAN ship, her correct title is NUSHIP Arafura, she doesn’t gain the HMAS title until commissioned late this year.
https://www.navy.gov.au/nuship-arafura
There are three Armidale class PBs that start with ‘A’, a name mix up perhaps?
Perhaps these are sailors expected to crew the Arafura later this year.
Great that we are engaging with Australia however one has to wonder how much combined training three OPV’s can really do together. I can’t imagine a situation that would require or be optimal for three OPV’s. Hopefully the B2 deployments are paving the way for forward deployments of something a bit more capable like T32 or some future Black Swan drone carriers.
OPVs and PBs do have an important role.
In the Australian context, the RAN PB fleet (in the process of being replaced by larger OPVs), are the day to day front line when it comes to border patrol, a broad range of constabulary roles, illegal entry patrol, fisheries patrol, etc, etc.
You don’t need an expensive fleet of Destroyers and Frigates out there doing those day to day roles.
Exactly 👏I really don’t get the hate with the B2’s these are fantastic WARSHIPS, if the navy had more money and missile’s to spare then yes they might have a little more bite but as you correctly state they are not designed to fight other warships. What people also forget is these are designed to carry 50 royals and that on most days is enough to make most nations coastlines a target.
B2 “Warships”? In any war they’d be death traps.
Yes very much and it’s really important that it’s very clear they are constabulary vessels. Nothing should be added that could make a decision maker think they could be used as anything else.
You’d be a fool to put them up against an enemy combatant, these are useful additions to fleet using its small size to its advantage in the litterol environment. From Lilly padding helo’s ship to ship extending there range, marine insertion and when navy PODS comes online literally an unlimited amount of sensors to weapons could theoretically be bolted on.
They were designed from the outset to do the non fighting tasks but these are essential vessels for the navy in terms of hull numbers, training, port/diplomatic visits, constabulary duties, drug enforcement and extending the lives of other vessels.
A similar argument is going on here in Oz regarding the under construction Arafura class OPV. The planned armament is a 40mm main gun and a couple of .50 cal MGs, plus UAV and three RHIBs, all of which is more than sufficient for the constabulary role. Then there are those that want to see a 57mm or 76mm main gun, NSM anti ship missiles, etc. But this all comes at a large costs, both in dollars and manpower, what do you rob from the Defence budget to pay for it? Anyway, I’d rather see the Arafura OPV fleet armed… Read more »
There will always be the people that don’t understand how vessels work and how the different levels of warships work. I go with the navy know what they are doing better than anyone so normally they are correct.
I’m a hater of the B2 River’s so I’ll try and explain it. We do need patrol vessels for maritime interdiction, search and rescue, humanitarian relief and anti-piracy. They don’t need to be heavily armed for those missions but they absolutely do need a hangar to permanently embark a helicopter. Without an ability to see over the horizon with a helicopter, their usefulness in the very missions that they are supposed to undertake is seriously curtailed. For the £650m which we spent on them I’d rather we bought only four ships but put a hangar for a Wildcat on each… Read more »
Unfortunately the navy has to make do with what it’s got, and given by politics. We all know these were build for job creation and for votes. No these weren’t designed for warfighting just the 99 other tasks that need covering, The problem we have is head count and hull availability-why send a wave all the way to the Pacific for a mundane task that would be a wasted use of crew and resources. The rivers were designed from the outset to provide a small crew and low running costs for the navy at a time when we are struggling… Read more »
You don’t need a Wildcat and the 12 extra crew to service it just to see beyond the horizon. A drone such as a Firescout can do that far cheaper and at less risk.
And once we’ve spent yet more money on the River’s and given them that capability then my only criticism will be the limitations on humanitarian relief and the rescue element of the SAR mission coming from not having a helicopter. Unfortunately they’re not equipped with that capability and there are no plans to put it on them so my criticism stands: they are £650m of ships plus crews and operating costs that are next to useless in their primary role and offer dreadful value for money in terms of the capability provided given their construction cost.
The reason a B2 can’t embark a helicopter isn’t to do with the lack of a hangar, it’s to do with the lack of helicopters. If there were spare helicopters the Rivers could use them. In May, HMS Trent embarked a Wildcat for 2 weeks of extensive day and night flying operations in the Mediterranean and Atlantic. The objective was to find the Ship Helicopter Operating Limits. Until that was done, helicopters couldn’t be routinely employed on the Rivers anyway. Now there should be no issue using the Rivers for helicopter-embarked SAR. But that still leaves the question, where are you… Read more »
I’m not talking about a helicopter some of the time. I’m talking all of the time and that requires a hangar. As to where I’d get them, then cancel the National Ship. The £250m saved from that would get you about 10 light to medium helicopters with a surface search radar, data link and a couple of LMG mounts in the doors which is all that’s required for these missions. Or you cancel Ajax and have 64 helicopters from the £1.6bn remaining to spend on that programme. I’m only kidding on that one but it’s just the best illustration going… Read more »
I agree they are vital, I just can’t imagine a tasking that would need three of them at the same time beyond search and rescue which would be better performed by a different platform with organic air capability. So in this instance the joint training they are doing is likely more PR/diplomatic than militarily useful.
This is mostly a PR thing and there’s nothing wrong with that.
And they might work together if there’s a natural disaster. Or even in a war, as they would be doing far rear guard duties and taking over previous frigate patrol duties.
I agree the PR is important and building diplomacy is vital in the region. But building up hard military skills like MCM and ASW will become increasingly important in the future in the way we train with NATO.
John N, I’d whisper that kind of talk round here mate, it’s all about the bangs sticks baby.
Ok if anyone asks you didn’t hear it from me. I’ve got exclusive details on Batch 3. I know many of you will be upset about number of VLS and size of guns. But here it is anyway. Youtube AI Colorized | Rodney Shells Alderney This file will self destruct in 10 hours.
Great to see! Would have liked the French to have done something, but they are in the middle of getting new ships.
New Zealand very notably absent.
Good patrol boats the Armidale. Quickly built too ( think it was 14 built in 3-4 years.)
The 25mm is perfect for watch they do… no need for anything bigger.
Bit of TV useless info… it was the Armidale class that featured in the 2nd series onwards of Sea Patrol… replacing the Fremantle class of the first series
This OPV would be better off in the Channel sinking inflatables coming from France