U.K. Ministry of Defence Archives - Maritime Shipping News

U.K. MoD White Paper on Military Response to a Contested World

19 July 2023

The following is the July 18, 2023, U.K. Ministry of Defence white paper, Defence’s response to a more contested and volatile world.

From the report

1. The refreshed Integrated Review (IRR) published in March 2023 identified that the transition into a multipolar, fragmented and contested world had happened more quickly and definitively than anticipated in the original Integrated Review. In response to this changing threat context, the IRR set out a new approach through an updated strategic...

https://news.usni.org/2023/07/19/u-k-mod-white-paper-on-military-response-to-a-contested-world

Ukraine, Russia Continue to Clash Over Control of Dnieper River

10 February 2023

Dnieper River in 2016.

The Dnieper River continues to be a battleground in the Russo-Ukraine as Russia attempts to use small boats to keep its presence on islands, according to a U.K. intelligence released this week.

Ukraine troops have taken out a number of Russian outposts along the river’s banks using long-range weapons, according to Thursday tweets from the U.K. Ministry of Defence.

“Both sides are likely aiming to maintain a presence in these areas to control maritime access to the...

https://news.usni.org/2023/02/09/ukraine-russia-continue-to-clash-over-control-of-dnieper-river

U.K. Defence Equipment Plan 2022-2032

30 November 2022

The following is the U.K. Ministry of Defence 2022 Defence Equipment Report released in November.

From the report

The 2022 Equipment Plan comes at a pivotal point in time for Defence, one where we are entering a new age of warfare and defensive planning. The Ministry of Defence has become increasingly in the spotlight over the last year, as have our spending plans and capability investments been scrutinised in the wake of the Ukraine Russia conflict.

The events of the last few months have...

https://news.usni.org/2022/11/30/u-k-defence-equipment-plan-2022-2032

U.K. Frigate Joins Norwegian Navy Guarding North Sea Pipelines Following Nord Stream Ruptures

4 October 2022

HMS Somerset (F82)

A United Kingdom Royal Navy frigate is joining Norwegian forces operating in the North Sea protecting gas pipelines following last week’s rupture of two Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic, the U.K. Ministry of Defence announced on Monday.

“A Royal Navy frigate is in the North Sea, working with the Norwegian Navy to reassure those working near the gas pipelines,” reads the Monday statement.

The MoD did not specify the frigate, but The Telegraph reported that it would likely be...

https://news.usni.org/2022/10/03/u-k-frigate-joins-norwegian-navy-guarding-north-sea-pipelines-following-nord-stream-ruptures

Defense Chief: U.K. Needs to Develop ‘Capability and Deterrence’ in the High North

20 October 2021

HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08) visits Western Scotland for the first time on March 20, 2021. Royal Navy Photo

Keeping the Atlantic open so European allies can remain in the loop with the United States and Canada during a crisis has “always been the case in NATO military strategy” and remains so today, the chief of the United Kingdom’s defense staff said Tuesday.

Gen. Sir Nicholas Carter said that even in this “era of consistent competition” with authoritarian powers like Russia and China, London looks...

https://news.usni.org/2021/10/19/defense-chief-u-k-needs-to-develop-capability-and-deterrence-in-the-high-north

DSEI: U.K. Crafting New Command and Control Regime as Royal Navy Grows

13 September 2019

HMS Queen Elizabeth conducting a Replenishment At Sea with RFA Tideforce on Sept. 8, 2019. Royal Navy Photo

LONDON — The Royal Navy’s metamorphosis from a provider of lone warships to the world’s maritime hotspots into a service deploying carrier strike and amphibious task groups will be accompanied by an equally transformation in command and control (C2), according to the U.K.’s surface fleet commander.

In the most radical shake-up of its kind in a century, Rear Adm. Andy Burns forecast that...

https://news.usni.org/2019/09/13/dsei-u-k-crafting-new-command-and-control-regime-as-royal-navy-grows