Going Dutch - the Royal Netherlands Navy and HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH
The United Kingdom has few allies closer than the Netherlands.
Both nations are modern, outward looking and instinctively maritime in their
view of the world. Long standing NATO partners and with significant experience
of working together across the globe, the Netherlands Armed Forces are highly
respected as being capable, well equipped and staffed with first rate
personnel.
The relationship between the RN and the Royal Netherlands
Navy is extremely close, particularly between the Marine Corps and the Submarine
Services. It is therefore extremely pleasing to hear that the Netherlands will
be deploying a warship to form part of the inaugural ‘Carrier Strike Group’ (CSG)
deployments for HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH in 2021 HERE
This is a significant announcement and it has several ramifications that are
good news for the Royal Navy.
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The Carrier Strike Group concept is a way of operating
and deploying vessels that is going to utterly alter how the Royal Navy deploys
its ships in future. Unlike previous years where the RN has tended to deploy
singleton vessels on specific operational tasks, the CSG marks the first time
that the RN will have tried to work up a coherent force and keep it ready for
operational tasking as required.
In practical terms this means that much of the RN escort
force will be focused more on working as part of the CSG and less on doing long
term deployments around the world. For example, it is likely that with the
intention to see a Type 23 base ported in Bahrain, there will be far fewer RN ships
deploying there, instead the hulls being assigned to support the CSG or other
duties. What this means is that the RN is having a genuine sea change in how it
builds up and deploys its operational capability at sea. The future is going to
be about seeing CSG deployments take priority over other tasks, and this in
turns has major ramifications for the surface fleet.
There seems to be an exceptionally British trait of
moaning at good news. Some people felt that it wasn’t good enough for the RN to
be ‘reliant’ on a foreign warship operating as part of the CSG, and that the UK
should be going it alone. What utter rot.
It does not mean, despite what some naysayers were
desperate to bleat about on social media without any evidence to the contrary,
that defence cuts mean the UK is reliant on the Dutch to protect the carrier.
The RN has spent a lot of time working out what escorts are needed and ensuring
they will be available when necessary as part of the CSG to properly protect the
carrier. Any foreign participation is a nice bonus capability to have, not a tacit
hint that the RN is short of ships.
The reality of future operations is that the UK is going
to operate as part of an international coalition with our friends and allies.
Despite the fantasies of some, desperate to see a huge purely British task
force sailing around the world looking for a fight and a free trade deal, the
fact is that any future military operation is going to be international by
design.
Working with allies is critically important but isn’t
something you can just do at the drop of a hat. One of the reasons why NATO
works so well is because it has spent 70 years investing in common processes,
tactics and procedures and exercising them regularly to ensure everyone can
work together coherently.
Integrating a Dutch vessel now is vital because it helps
build and cement an understanding at operational level of how to work with each
other, to learn the capabilities of each other’s ships and how to work them to
best effect together. It can also spot unintended issues or problems and help
work out how to fix them quickly. This takes time to do, so it is likely that
any Dutch vessel assigned in 2021 will have spent a considerable period working
up in advance before beginning the deployment proper.
For those who complain that the Royal Navy hasn’t got enough
ships to escort the carrier, it is worth reflecting that the Netherlands have a
total of 6 frigates. Assuming the normal serviceability rates for escorts
apply, then two are likely to be in refit and another in maintenance or
training. This leaves just three active vessels at any one time – so in
reality, the Netherlands commitment to support the Carrier Strike Group represents
them committing a third of their available escort force for a significant
amount of time.
The work up, integration and inevitable FOST training,
coupled with the deployment itself means that whichever vessel is assigned is
going to spend the best part of 18 months supporting the Royal Navy. This is a
big commitment from the Netherlands to work with an ally, and one that should
be warmly welcomed.
It also demonstrates that the Royal Navy is seen as an
international partner of choice by many other nations. To commit a substantial amount
of your national escort force to work with a foreign partner, plus the sheer
cost of deploying a vessel for the long term is not a decision to be taken
lightly. It is a sign that the Netherlands places significant value in the long-term
defence relationship between the two countries.
Some people may see this as bad news or a national humiliation.
How awful is it that the once mighty Royal Navy is reliant on foreign ships to
support its fleet flagship on her maiden deployment? Actually, international
integration into Carrier Strike Groups is a long established process, carried
out by several different navies.
The United States Navy regularly deploys carriers with an
integrated foreign escort – sometimes Canadian, German or Danish to name but a
few. The Royal Navy regularly provides escorts in the Gulf to help as an air
defence asset – when a Type 45 and CVBG are both in the Gulf at the same time,
the US Navy is usually extremely keen to see the Type 45 work where possible as
part of their force.
The French Navy has often deployed the Charles De Gaulle
with foreign escorts – for instance the RN has regularly sent Type 23s on
deployment as part of the De Gaulles battlegroup (good example story can be
found HERE)
– for example HMS ST ALBANS worked very closely with the French in 2015 in the
Middle East and beyond.
The Royal Navy is therefore hardly alone in wanting to
work with allies as part of its carrier forces. The benefits are substantial, and
it is a good test of how to work well together. While it is easy to host a ‘steaming
in company’ photo (which the internet is full of) showing ships from different
nations in close company, fitting into a foreign carrier group and working as a
truly integrated part of the system is a totally different game. This opportunity
demonstrates just how closely aligned the UK and Netherlands are and bodes well
for the future.
More widely the reality of international operations is
that vessels deploying on operations are likely to do so as part of a NATO or
UN force, potentially working to a coalition HQ – for instance the Combined
Maritime Forces HQ in the Middle East. Here multiple international vessels are
assigned to work under a variety of Task Forces, each led by rotating national
1* HQ’s, who work to a US Navy 3* who is also Commander 5th Fleet.
It is entirely possible for an RN warship in the Middle East to be working
under the direction of multiple nations at any one time while working as part
of an even larger international task force.
The idea that the UK is somehow strangely aloof from the
unpleasantness of working with foreign types is utter rubbish. International by
design is absolutely baked into the DNA of the RN’s operating mentality at every
level.
It is exceptionally unlikely that QUEEN ELIZABETH will
ever deploy except as part of an international task group. For instance, there
are likely to be USMC F35 or US Navy helicopters embarked. If she is working in
an LPH role then there may be Dutch marines or French helicopters helping move
troops ashore. The escort force is as likely to be drawn from France or the USA
as it is from the Royal Navy.
This is not a bad thing – its bloody sensible. We’re working
in a world where almost no nation is going to war alone, so why not work in a
coherent integrated way with your friends and partners?
Much like going for a dinner with a trusted friend, if in
doubt, go Dutch…
Great to see, but are there opportunities to go further? If you're a sailor in a small coastal defence focused force, wouldn't a couple of years as part of a carrier's company travelling round the globe be of interest? Could we bolster our carrier force / amphibious force by manning with more partner nation sailors?
ReplyDeleteConcern of stuff like this is Treasury justifying a smaller budget for the forces, because 'NATO'. As nice as it is to have the Dutch working as part of the fleet protection force, it allows the Treasury to purchase less surface ships than we need. Look at Poseidon, 9 aren't deemed enough, but it's justified because 'as part of NATO' we can call up others.
ReplyDeleteWhat is our need? Can we relate this back to what the enemy or likely enemy can deploy. Is the need to take on the Russian military single handedly? Or just the part which threatens our territorial waters?
DeleteWhat is the threat we are trying to counter?
Even with our much reduced escort force, the UK could still sortie 4 T45 and up to 6 T26 in the future which is more than enough to escort two carriers strike groups. However using allies like this also makes perfect sense, indeed we should take it further, nations like Canada and Australia should be invited to participate with T26’s and also look to nations like the USA and maybe in future japan to provide aircraf F35 aircraft. This way we can easily afford to have a carrier capability while still maintaining our peace time deployments. Having two large carriers and 15 high end escorts is a significantly better force than what we had to send south in 1982 were most of the escorts were equipped to only catch bullets with their hulls.
DeleteThe treasury can’t justify any further cuts based on using allies resources as cuts have already reached their maximum level, only NATO 2% target stands in the way of further reductions but not even HM treasury is going to risk cutting below that.
DeleteIt's been said here before but when you look at the fleet which was sent to the South Atlantic, most was barely able to defend itself, let alone influence the sea and land war. We had the quantity, but the quality wasn't there.
DeleteIt is this statement that is the problem I'm afraid. "It is exceptionally unlikely that QUEEN ELIZABETH will ever deploy except as part of an international task group"
ReplyDeleteWe need to maintain the ability to deploy alone, so we should do that more than just exceptionally. Nothing wrong with integrating allies, just not all the time.