HMS Trent and a Wildcat helicopter escorted Russian warships through UK waters

The British Navy patrol vessel HMS Trent and a Wildcat helicopter escorted Russian warships in British waters during a five-day operation coordinated with NATO allies.

HMS Trent, based in the port of Portsmouth, monitored the Russian anti-submarine destroyer Vice Admiral Kulakov, passing by Great Yarmouth and moving through the English Channel towards the island of Ouessant (Ushant). There, the destroyer was joined by two Russian tankers heading east. The vessels met at the island of Ouessant, after which they turned back to the east, continuing to pass through the strait.

A Wildcat helicopter from the 815th Naval Aviation Squadron supported the ship by conducting aerial surveillance of the movement of Russian vessels. At the same time, the NATO partner country monitored the actions of two Russian tankers.

This operation became part of the regular actions of the British Navy and NATO to control warships near the territorial waters of the alliance. The Russian military itself calls such observations a common maritime practice and emphasizes that the ships perform scheduled tasks.

In recent months, the British Navy has been actively using patrol ships, including HMS Trent, to monitor the actions of Russian submarines and military vessels in the English Channel and neighboring waters. However, some experts have expressed concern about the limited British fleet and its capabilities in confrontation with the Russian fleet.

British F-35Bs will test the deck of the Japanese aircraft carrier Kaga during joint exercises

 

British F-35B carrier—based fighters may soon land and take off from one of Japan's de facto aircraft carriers, JS Kaga, as members of the British aircraft carrier strike group are scheduled to arrive in Japanese waters in August as part of the final phase of a multi-month deployment to the Indo-Pacific region. It is expected that part of the joint activities will be the landing and take-off of F-35B fighters from the British aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales onto the deck of the Japanese JS Kaga, as the fleets of the partner countries seek to increase interoperability and strengthen military cooperation.

Recall that JS Kaga has already been upgraded to operate F-35B aircraft, and in October 2024, an American F-35B successfully landed on its deck during sea trials. In turn, the British F-35B, based on HMS Prince of Wales, has a short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) capability, which makes them compatible with aircraft carriers of this type. 

The planned cooperation between the UK and Japan could be an important step in developing a bilateral military partnership and deepening the presence of allied forces in the Indo-Pacific region. Starting from 2029-2030, the full-fledged start of F-35B operations from Japanese aircraft carriers is also expected.

CETUS: The Royal Navy's first ultra-large underwater autonomous vehicle launched in Plymouth

 

CETUS

This week, the port of Plymouth hosted an important event in the history of autonomous technology development for the British Navy - the launching of CETUS, the Royal Navy's first ultra—large Underwater Autonomous Vehicle (XLUAV) technology demonstrator. This project represents a significant step forward in the field of marine automation and opens up new horizons for the use of autonomous systems in the defense sector.

The competition for the development of the XLUAV with a length of 8-12 meters was announced in early 2022, and MSubs from Plymouth received a contract worth 21.5 million pounds for the production of CETUS in November of the same year. It was originally planned that the sea trials would begin in November 2024, but the project is several months behind schedule. Despite the delays, the launching of CETUS remains an important stage in the implementation of the program.

CETUS is being designed and built from scratch under the auspices of the Department of autonomous technologies of the Agency for the Delivery of Submarines (Submarine Delivery Agency's Autonomy Unit, SDA-AU). This is the first XLUAV owned and operated by the Royal Navy, and its creation will mark a new era in the development of autonomous underwater systems.

CETUS is a large-scale autonomous vehicle designed to perform a wide range of tasks, including collecting environmental data, monitoring the seabed, searching for mines and exploring deep-sea objects. Due to its size and autonomy, it can operate at long time intervals and over long distances without the need for constant monitoring by operators.

Main Features of CETUS:

- Length: 8-12 meters.

- Autonomy: the ability to swim for a long time without human intervention.

- Mission flexibility: the ability to equip various sensors and tools to perform various tasks.

- Collaboration with other systems: potential integration with existing Royal Navy platforms.

The CETUS project is part of the Royal Navy's broader strategy to integrate autonomous technology into its operations. The use of such systems will improve the efficiency of the underwater forces, reduce the risk to human life and expand the ability to collect information in hard-to-reach areas of the oceans.

After the completion of the tests, scheduled until 2027, CETUS will be used to conduct experiments and test new technologies. This will help determine the future development directions of autonomous underwater systems and their role in modern naval operations.

Although the CETUS project has become an important achievement in the field of autonomous technologies, it also faces a number of technical and organizational challenges. The delay in conducting sea trials highlights the difficulty of developing and implementing innovative systems. However, these difficulties are an inevitable part of the process of creating advanced technologies.

In the long term, the successful implementation of the CETUS project could lead to the creation of a series of autonomous underwater vehicles for the Royal Navy. This will strengthen the UK's position as a leader in marine automation and provide a competitive advantage in the face of growing geopolitical uncertainty.