Monarchs of the Sea

HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH has returned to Portsmouth from her sea trials in the Atlantic, a voyage that saw her make the first of many visits to Gibraltar, and help continue the complicated process of making sure the ship is able to safely, efficiently and effectively operate aircraft. The purpose of trials is simple, to make sure that things work as intended and then if not, work out what to do to make them work properly. While it is understandable that many frustrated commentators want to see jets embarked yesterday, when you bring a ship into service for the first time, you have to be certain it all works properly.

Image by Ministry of Defence; © Crown copyright

These trials are particularly important in setting the parameters of how the ship works, understanding the limitations of aviation operations and in seeing how the vessel handles in varied weather conditions. The Save the Royal Navy website has a good account of some of the work done to date - LINK HERE To date, according to the 2^nd Sea Lord (whose twitter feed @VAdmJWoodcock is  very good indeed), she has conducted over 1000 aircraft landings. Launching aircraft on a flat calm mill pond may be one thing, recovering aircraft in an Atlantic storm at night is something totally different. Until the operators know the limits of the ship, know what can be done, and more importantly what can’t be done, then it is inherently foolish to embark squadrons of F35s. Getting the basics right is essential here, to prevent problems downstream.

RAS with the RFA

One of the key parts of the trials is to make sure that the ship is capable of Replenishment At Sea (RAS) operations. This process is integral to what distinguishes the Royal Navy as a truly global force, from many other coastal navies. The ability to stay at sea and take on fuel, supplies and munitions helps extend reach and influence considerably further than would otherwise be the case. The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) has a long and proud history of supporting the Royal Navy, providing support and stores across the globe, with its personnel (officially counted as MOD Civil Servants) delivering superb service. This force is critical in ensuring the Royal Navy remains able to deploy globally.

It was essential then for QUEEN ELIZABETH to conduct a RAS early in her career to make sure that such a process is possible, and safe to do. You have to be certain when placing a 65,000 tonne aircraft carrier alongside a nearly 40,000 oil tanker that things will work as intended. That’s before you start the process of refuelling the ship – akin to trying refuel your car from a petrol lorry in the motorway while you’re both doing 50MPH.

The trials took place, although as the RN press release drily notes HERE, bad weather conditions meant the decision was taken to call it off early. There is some debate as to whether firing lines together counts or not - to Humphrey it is an emphatic yes! 

This prompted some derision on social media, with Armchair Admirals immediately moaning about how ‘well how will they do it in wartime’ or ‘we did it in the Falklands don’t you know’. This is all well and good, but there is a difference between doing a RAS, particularly mid way through an operational deployment when the ships company is worked up, knows the drill and people understand the limitations, and doing it for the first time.

Sticking two brand new ships together, jointly displacing over 100,000 tonnes is always going to be a tricky evolution. Watching the video footage shows just how heavy the sea conditions were – when you see QEC's red anti fouling paint clear the waterline, you realise how strong they must have been to cause a Carrier to move in that manner. Continuing an evolution in those conditions was inherently riskier than breaking off and trying again another day.

To some this will be evidence of a risk averse navy, not willing to tolerate anything slightly dangerous. To Humphrey, it is the sign of a Navy which knows when to take risk, and also when not to take unduly great risk for no discernible gain. This speaks volumes on the calm, measured approach to leadership that is instilled in the RN at all levels.

Force Regeneration

The wider ‘good news’ story of this piece though is the sight of a brand new British Fleet Aircraft Carrier steaming through heavy seas, with Chinooks tidily lashed down across its flight deck like ants,  and preparing to RAS with a brand new British Fleet Tanker. This is the culmination of years of planning, and significant investment in research to ensure that it could happen – for example there are images on social media showing the mock up models of both ships in the trials pool in Gosport years ago that made sure this would work safely – a great reminder of the importance of the work of  Qinetiq and other civil servants in the Defence Scientific community and beyond to keep our front line working.

The bringing together of these two programmes heralds a genuine renaissance in UK maritime capability after a testing few years of gaps and capability holidays. The loss of the CVS, Harrier and the paying off of older RFA tankers tested the faith of many, who feared it would sound the death knell for the future. Yet here we are a few years later with the nucleus of a Carrier Battle Group at sea, brand new ships able to deploy globally and supported by the world beating Type 45 and 23s, while the Type 26 is (finally) under construction and Type 31 contract is now out to tender.

It is an incredibly inspiring moment to look at the photo of the RAS – it speaks on so many levels about an amazing story of success and accomplishment. On the one hand it talks of the ability of the UK to deliver new ships (and in the case of the Tide class to modify them as no UK yards bid for them due to a lack of capacity in their yards thanks to the large building programme of the last few years). It shows how the UK can project manage incredibly complex issues, fusing together civil servants and service personnel to deliver some of the most complicated and capable machinery on the planet and manage not just these projects, but many others too. This photo is a testimony to an astoundingly good procurement system.

At another level the photo acts as a timely reminder that the Royal Navy is a truly global navy. A carrier practising a RAS in heavy seas is something only a tiny number of nations can do – the US, the UK and potentially France (albeit with a much more limited pool of supply ships), and possibly Russia on a good day. The skill set required to deliver this is substantial, takes many years to develop and is perhaps a good reminder that becoming a carrier capable navy requires a lot of investment across many different areas to successfully deliver.

The final great point about these pictures is that they beautifully capture the joint manner in which the UK armed forces work now. In this image you can see RAF Chinooks, integrated as a core part of the airwing and supported by RAF personnel, MOD Civil Servants in the form of RFA personnel, and RN and RM personnel too all working together to operate these ships. This is truly joint operations, and helps remind us that the UK excels at bringing its individual Services together to be greater than the sum of their parts.

It may be a small step in a long road, but these photos capture so much about the renaissance of the Royal Navy, the new equipment coming into service and its people and their approach to delivery of capability. There is much more to come, with the next milestone being the embarkation of jets later in the year, but already it is clear that HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH is shaping up to be a magnificent monarch indeed.