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RN Project Cabot and Atlantic Bastion

Kirkhill

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Up front, I have no backfground in ASW, but this recent RCN submarine RFI situation is making it a topic of interest.

Just a very preliminary search and a topic that comes up a lot is the impact of stealth on submarine design and the combination of AI and UUV in submarine hunting

Any pointers to appropriate websites/articles to flesh out this topic area is appreciated

This caught my attention



......

Which brings up RN Project Cabot and the Atlantic Bastion




And a whole bunch of associated thoughts
 

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Entering the chat

Type 92 Sloop USV to be defined speculation that it is a 40 m craft like the Blackett.
Type 93 XLUUV Cetus maybe or possibly Ghost Shark.

And an interesting chat.

 
Also in the news




.....

Denmark builds 2x Absalon Command and Support ships
Denmark builds 3x Iver Huitfeld AAW ships based on the Absalon hull
UK builds 5x Type 31 for RN based on Danish ships
UK sells 3x Type 31 variants to Poland
Denmark relegates 3 x AAW ships to patrol duties
Norway buys 5x Type 31 from UK
Denmark negotiating to buy 3x UK built Type 31s
Sweden negotiating to buy 4x UK built Type 31s

Potentially that would see a fleet of 21 Absalon / Type 31 variants and sisters operating in the GIUK Gap - North Sea - Baltic Area.

This would be on top of Norway's Nansens and the RN's 6x Type 45s and 8x Type 26s.

An interesting backup to the UUV/USV screen proposed.

.....

Canada to add up to 15 Type 26 variants (minus those deployed to the Pacific) and up to 12x Arctic capable corvettes.
 
On the submarine front

RN - 4x Vanguard SSBN
RN - 7x Astute SSN
Norway - 6x T212
Denmark - under consideration
Sweden - 5x domestic builds
Canada - 12x under consideration.
 
Left out - the Dutch contribution to the North Atlantic
My error.
 
Final linkage

Canadian Coast Guard converted to a DND agency. In that it joins with the CAF and the CSE. The CSE is independent of the CAF as the CCG seems set to be.

....

Atlantic Bastion looks to be predicated on maintaining an extensive infrastructure of unmanned sensors with a strong focus on securing civilian strategic assets like undersea pipelines, powerlines and fibre-optics cables.

Those skill sets are largely to be found in the CCG.

Maintenance of lightships, navigation aids and hydrography are all CCG specialties. Adding unmanned systems to secure pipe lines and detect submarines, UUVs, USVs, UAVs does seem to be a more logical ask of the CCG than the RCN.

Seaspans 16 arctic capable MMVs, along with breakers and 2x AOPS are likely to be very busy.
 
'Nuther bright idea from the RN -

Mothership with up to 6 escorts.
Mothership focused on the AAW effort
Heavily automated, lean crew.

128 missiles on the mothership
32 missiles on each of the escorts.
Total of 320 missiles


0-12 crew on each of the escorts




Robot missile warships to boost Royal Navy firepower​

New designs will help British fleet overcome ‘worrying’ crew shortages

Matt Oliver Industry Editor


the 'Air Warfare Command Ship'

The new air warfare command ship acts as a ‘mothership’ for up to six smaller vessels, which are crewed by just six to 12 people
Robot missile warships could dramatically boost the firepower of the Royal Navy as the service grapples with a recruitment crisis.

BAE Systems will unveil two concept vessels at an arms show in London this week that aim to bulk up the Navy at low cost and with minimal crewing.

A new “air warfare command ship” would be armed with up to 128 missiles, laser weapons, decoys, automatic cannons and deployable drones.

It would also use high levels of automation onboard to allow “ultra-lean” crewing arrangements and act as a “mothership” for up to six smaller vessels known as “deployed sensor effector platforms”.

These would each carry their own sensors and another 32 missiles and be run on crews of just six to 12 people – but could operate completely autonomously when at sea.

BAE said each smaller ship would take just two years to build, compared with five to six years for existing frigates and destroyers.

The company’s proposals will be seen as a possible contender for the Royal Navy’s Type 83 programme, which aims to replace the existing fleet of Type 45 or Daring-class destroyers.

Steve Hart, head of maritime business development at BAE, said: “This is all about delivering additional mass for the fleet using an ultra-lean crewed model.

“It’s something you could do very quickly to get additional missiles, additional underwater sensors.”

The designs had come from a need to bulk up the Navy “more cost-effectively, so you could deliver mass much more quickly, within a probably more constrained budget, and to complement crewed platforms”, he said.
A 'deployed sensor effector platform' ship design

Each smaller DSEP ships take just two years to build, compared with five to six years for existing frigates and destroyers
Gavin Rudgley, a maritime engineer at BAE, added: “The air warfare command ship would be the ship that carries the main sensor capability, so the main radar, and has the command function that can identify targets and make effectors work, so missiles and so on.


“But it would work in conjunction with the smaller, either uncrewed or ultra-lean crewed autonomous platform that then gives extra leverage.

“This is the direction future warfare is going.”

BAE will unveil the early designs on Tuesday at the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) fair in London. DSEI is Europe’s biggest arms show and is supported by the Ministry of Defence.
The 'Air Warfare Command Ship' concept of a mothership that control the 'deployed sensor effector platform'

The ‘mothership’ concept is all about delivering additional mass but using an ultra-lean crew
The focus on uncrewed systems comes as the Ukraine war highlights the growing role of unmanned drones on the battlefield, while crew availability issues have also forced the Royal Navy to retire some ships early.

In June, Vice Admiral Andrew Burns, the Fleet Commander, said a worrying shortfall in headcount was leaving Britain potentially exposed in a new era of global threats.

Asked to identify the single biggest challenge facing the Navy, he said: “It’s people, right now.

“It’s the quantity of people. And it’s not just recruitment, it’s retention.”

His warning came after Britain’s naval forces failed to hit their recruitment targets every year since 2011.

Only 2,450 people joined the ranks in 2023-24, according to data from the Ministry of Defence (MoD). That represented a shortfall of more than 1,500 recruits, 40pc lower than the target.

Vice Admiral Burns said future recruitment is likely to involve fewer uniformed personnel as the Navy seeks to advertise a wider range of jobs.

This could mean roles aimed at protecting subsea infrastructure or controlling fleets of uncrewed vessels.


I don't know if this is the same ship or another bright idea...


1757289652020.png

The mission bay is the heart of the concept. BAE highlights that “with modularity at its core, Adaptable Strike Frigate has been designed to accommodate over 20+ TEUs.” These containers could be fitted with missile batteries, minehunting drones, command suites or humanitarian supplies, with specialist handling systems allowing them to be moved and deployed at sea. The ability to switch payloads rapidly is pitched as the antidote to fleets locked into single-mission hulls.

I suspect it is complementary to the AAW ship which seems to be a Type 83 contender to replace the Darings.

I wonder if the escorts, built in two years, could be managed with a Daring as a mothership?
 
'Nuther bright idea from the RN -

Mothership with up to 6 escorts.
Mothership focused on the AAW effort
Heavily automated, lean crew.

128 missiles on the mothership
32 missiles on each of the escorts.
Total of 320 missiles


0-12 crew on each of the escorts







I don't know if this is the same ship or another bright idea...


View attachment 95604



I suspect it is complementary to the AAW ship which seems to be a Type 83 contender to replace the Darings.

I wonder if the escorts, built in two years, could be managed with a Daring as a mothership?
6 to 12 crew. Doesn't appear to me (a landlubber) to provide much flexibility to even visit the head and meals would be strictly MRE. Why not just build an armed tug as the mother ship and tow 3 or 4 LSTs. The crews of the LSTs could stay on board the mother ship until it was time to deploy. Makes as much sense and would cost less
 
6 to 12 crew. Doesn't appear to me (a landlubber) to provide much flexibility to even visit the head and meals would be strictly MRE. Why not just build an armed tug as the mother ship and tow 3 or 4 LSTs. The crews of the LSTs could stay on board the mother ship until it was time to deploy. Makes as much sense and would cost less

Zero to 12. Zero is the target IMO.
 
Also in the news




.....

Denmark builds 2x Absalon Command and Support ships
Denmark builds 3x Iver Huitfeld AAW ships based on the Absalon hull
UK builds 5x Type 31 for RN based on Danish ships
UK sells 3x Type 31 variants to Poland
Denmark relegates 3 x AAW ships to patrol duties
Norway buys 5x Type 31 from UK
Denmark negotiating to buy 3x UK built Type 31s
Sweden negotiating to buy 4x UK built Type 31s

Potentially that would see a fleet of 21 Absalon / Type 31 variants and sisters operating in the GIUK Gap - North Sea - Baltic Area.

This would be on top of Norway's Nansens and the RN's 6x Type 45s and 8x Type 26s.

An interesting backup to the UUV/USV screen proposed.

.....

Canada to add up to 15 Type 26 variants (minus those deployed to the Pacific) and up to 12x Arctic capable corvettes.

I erred.
Norway is buying the Type 26, not the Type 31.
That would mean

16 Type 31 variants
13 Type 26 variants
6 Type 45 variants

Plus Canada's 15 Type 26 variants.
 
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