Royal Navy

HMS Victory, which has been in dry dock for almost a century, is once again "afloat" – but not on the water. It is being supported by a high-tech system that mimics the pressure of the sea pushing against the vessel's hull and keel.

BAE Systems has won a US$4 million contract to supply the British Royal Navy with autonomous Pacific 24 (P24) boats. The P24 Unmanned is a 25.6 ft-long Rigid Inflatable Boat that can reach 38 knots and operate for 45 hours at patrol speed.

Britain's Royal Marines will be testing a new helmet-mounted video camera to provide them with real-time data for informing tactical decisions. The bespoke camera is based on a general purpose camera design, but has been hardened and weatherproofed.

Defense companies Leonardo and Thales have successfully tested the Martlet Lightweight Multirole Missile (LMM). The missile being developed for the Royal Navy was fired during air trials from a Wildcat helicopter as part of the UK FASGW program.

The British government is investing up to £2.5 million (US$3.2 million) to begin the development for the Royal Navy of an extra-large autonomous submarine measuring 100 feet in length – making it larger than the Boeing Orca XLUUV.

The UK has announced that the Arrowhead 140 design will be the basis for the first of five general-purpose Type 31 frigates.

BAE Systems will demonstrate an unmanned surface vessel fully integrating with the combat systems of a Royal Navy warship for the first time.

Britain's armed forces take a look into the future with young engineers predicting what the Royal Marines in 2050 will look like.

Targeted at anti-piracy, border control, intelligence gathering and maritime security missions, the Pacific 950 is an autonomous boat that can operate alone for up to 10 days, or cover 300 nautical miles at pursuit speed. Its built-in stabilized 12.7-mm weapons system, however, is human-operated.

The UK's Ministry of Defence has ordered three laser and radio-frequency weapons demonstrators. It promises £130 million (US$162 million) to test and evaluate the next generation of Directed Energy Weapons with field trials expected to begin in 2023 on Royal Navy ships and British Army vehicles.

While historically it is perhaps the most common large warship, the US Navy hasn't a single frigate left in its fleet for the first time since 1943 ... and it's looking for a new one. So what will the frigates of the future look like and how will they affect future conflicts?

A consortium led by BAE Systems has been tapped to provide the Royal Canadian Navy's (RCN) next generation of frigates based on Britain's Type 26 warship as part of the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy with BAE providing the variant modifications.