Active Royal Navy weapon systems

This is a list of Active Royal Navy weapon systems.

Guns

4.5" (113 mm) Mark 8 naval gun

The 4.5" Mark 8 gun can be found on all the Royal Navy's frigates and destroyers and was used in the Falklands and Iraq. The gun can fire up to 24 high explosive shells per minute, each weighing more than 40 kg, at targets more than 12 miles away – this can be extended to nearly 18 miles if special extended-range shells are used.

The main purpose of the gun is Naval Gunfire Support – artillery bombardment of shore targets. In this role the gun is capable of firing the equivalent of a six-gun shore battery. It can still be used as an anti-ship weapon.[1]

30 mm DS30M Mark 2 naval gun

The 30mm DS30M Mark 2 is a 30 mm automated naval gun system designed to defend ships from fast inshore attack craft armed with short-range weaponry. The DS30M Mark 2 system consists of a 30mm Mark 44 Bushmaster II cannon on a fully automated mount with an off-mount electro-optical director (EOD). The system is fitted to all 13 Type 23 Frigates, all 6 Type 45 Destroyers, batch 2 River Class Patrol Boat and several RFA ships when they have the weapons package added. In the future the system will be fitted to HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales.[2]

Oerlikon 20 mm cannon

The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon can be found on the Albion class LPDs, the batch 1 River class OPVs, the Echo class survey ships, the primary casualty receiving ship RFA Argus and both the Fort Victoria and Fort Rosalie class replenishment oilers.

Browning .50" Caliber (12.7 mm) Heavy Machine Gun

The Browning .50 Caliber Heavy Machine Gun can be found fitted to ships, the first of which was HMS Atherstone.[3]

7.62 mm Miniguns

A minigun aboard HMS Monmouth

All Royal Navy ships carry miniguns for close in defence.[4][5]

7.62 mm General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG)

GPMGs are used for close in defence.[4][5]

Close-in Weapon Systems (CIWS)

Phalanx 20 mm

The Phalanx Close-in Weapon System is an anti-ship missile defence system. It is fitted to HMS Albion, the Type 45 destroyers as well as the Bay class landing ships and Wave and Fort Victoria class replenishment oilers in the RFA. It is also currently in the designs for the new Type 26 Frigates. During Operation Telic, Phalanx guns were removed from ships and were crewed by RN personnel based at Basra airport, as part of the Centurion C-RAM system.[6]

Phalanx is now the only CIWS fitted to Royal Navy ships following the decommissioning of HMS Invincible, HMS Illustrious and the Type 22 Frigates which were equipped with Goalkeeper. The last active Goalkeeper system was removed from HMS Bulwark when she entered extended readiness in 2016.

Torpedoes

Spearfish torpedo

The Spearfish torpedo is the Royal Navy's heavyweight torpedo, weighing nearly two tonnes, which is carried by both the SSN and SSBN submarines. It has a range of more than 30 miles with a speed in excess of 92 mph and can be used either against other submarines or ships of any size. It carries a 300 kg explosive charge and is guided either by its in-built sonar or via a copper-cadmium wire.[7]

The Spearfish is currently undergoing a major upgrade program which will provide sophisticated advances in its homing, warheads, tactical and fueling systems, as well an upgraded guidance link.[8]

Sting Ray torpedo

The Sting Ray torpedo is the Royal Navy's lightweight torpedo which is designed to be carried by the anti-submarine helicopters AgustaWestland Merlin and Lynx Wildcat. It has a range of around 5 miles with a speed of more than 52 mph and is designed to be used predominantly against submarines. It carries a 45 kg explosive charge which is powerful enough to punch through the double hulls of modern submarines.[9] It is also integrated on board the Type 23 Frigates, deployed by two twin torpedo launchers.

Depth Charges

The Mk11 or Mk 11 Depth Charge is a depth charge used by Lynx Wildcat or Merlin Mk2 helicopters to attack enemy submarines.[10]

Mine Disposal System

Seafox

The Seafox Mine Disposal System is an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) used by both the Sandown and Hunt class mine hunters. The unit incorporates a remotely controlled surveillance system in order to identify a target, guided from the parent ship via fibre optic cables. Once a mine has been identified, an expendable autonomous or remote guided unit is guided to the target and detonates a shaped charge to destroy the mine. Four independent reversible motors and a hover thruster provide high manoeuvrability, allowing for exact placement prior to charge detonation. The Seafox is highly capable unit that seen action with the Royal Navy in recent conflicts clearing coastal waters in both Iraq and Libya.

Anti-Aircraft and Anti-Missile Missiles

Sea Wolf

The Sea Wolf is an anti-aircraft and anti-missile weapon equipping the Type 23 frigate fleet. It has been in service for more than three decades and has seen action in the Falklands War. It is sometimes described as a Point Defence Missile System because, unlike Sea Viper and Sea Dart, Sea Wolf is intended to defend an individual ship rather than a fleet, engaging aircraft or sea-skimming missiles. It is fired from a silo on Type 23 frigates, and guided on to its target by a dedicated tracking system on the ship. The fleet is in the middle of receiving the latest version of the missile system.[11] On board the Type 23 frigates the missile is launched from a 32-cell, vertical launch system. Sea Wolf will be replaced by Sea Ceptor between 2015 and 2021.

Sea Ceptor

The Sea Ceptor missile is currently being integrated onto the Type 23 frigate fleet, as a replacement to Sea Wolf. It has a range of <1 – 25+ km and is capable of reaching mach 3. Sea Ceptor will also equip the future Type 26 frigate and Type 31 frigate. MBDA claim that CAMM has a "wide target set", including the capability to engage small naval vessels, which would give the missile a limited surface-to-surface role. A Royal Navy Officer of the Type 23 Frigate HMS Westminster stated: “Westminster managed to explore the real potential of the system during her training and to say it is a real game changer is an understatement. Unlike its predecessor, the system is capable of defending ships other than Westminster herself. Whether it’s engaging multiple air threats or fast incoming attack craft, Sea Ceptor represents a massive capability upgrade for the Type 23 frigate.”[12]

Sea Viper

HMS Defender (D36) firing an Aster missile.

The Sea Viper is the main weapon of the Type 45 destroyers and provides all-round defence for an entire naval task group against all aerial threats at some 70 miles away. It races towards its target at speeds in excess of Mach Four (over 3,000 mph) using a series of tiny jets to manoeuvre, carrying out sharp turns.

The Principle Anti-Air Missile System on the Type 45 destroyers, of which Sea Viper is a principal component, comprises the SAMPSON radar, a Combat Management System, S1850M long-range radar, the Sylver vertical launching system and Aster 15 (20 miles) and Aster 30 (75 miles) missiles, it is these Aster missiles which hold the name Sea Viper.[13]

Anti-Ship Missiles

Harpoon

HMS Montrose (F236) fires a Harpoon missile

The Harpoon anti-ship missile is fitted to all Type 23 frigates and four Type 45 destroyers in a 2×4 canister configuration. Another two destroyers are fitted for but not with the missiles. The missile is a capable of striking at targets more than 80 miles away and is also used by many other NATO navies.[14] Harpoon was due to go out of service by the end of 2018. However, this has subsequently been revised to at least 2023.[15]

Martlet

Martlet is a lightweight air-to-surface and surface-to-surface missile under development by Thales Air Defence for the United Kingdom. It is due to equip the AgustaWestland AW159 Wildcat of the Fleet Air Arm in the near future.

The Martlet has also been tested on the Type 23 Frigate, using a launcher mounted on the side of the 30mm cannon, as a relatively inexpensive missile to use against small craft and UAVs.

Sea Venom

Sea Venom is a helicopter-launched lightweight anti-ship missile developed by MBDA to replace the Sea Skua. It will be fitted to the Fleet Air Arm's Wildcat HMA2 helicopters from 2022. The missile weighs 110 kg and has a warhead of 30 kg. It is optimized to attack Fast Inshore Attack Craft (FIAC), however it can also damage targets up to corvette size.[16]

Land Attack Missiles

A Royal Navy Tomahawk Land Attack Cruise Missile

A Trident II Submarine Launched Intercontinental Ballistic Missile

Tomahawk missile

The Tomahawk missile, also known as TLAM (Tomahawk Land Attack Cruise Missile), allows the Navy's submarines to strike at targets on land accurately. The missile has been in use with the RN since the late 1990s and has been used in the Kosovo conflict and in the campaigns against the Taliban and Saddam Hussein. It is fired from a boat's torpedo tubes. Once it reaches the surface, a booster rocket ignites to propel the missile skywards. Tomahawk then heads for its target at 550 mph, delivering a 1,000 lb explosive warhead.

The Tomahawk IV is the latest version of the missile. It has a longer range than its predecessors and can be directed at a new target in-flight, and can also beam back images of the battlefield. In British service it is fitted to all Trafalgar- and Astute- class submarines.[17] It is currently planned to be phased out of service in the American Navy, with no more weapons to be produced after 2015, meaning that it may no longer be an option for the Royal Navy from around the end of the decade.[18] The UK last bought 65 Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles in July 2014.[19]

Trident II D5 ballistic missile

The Trident nuclear missile is Britain's nuclear deterrent. Carried only by the four Vanguard-class submarines, it is ejected from their silos by high-pressure gas before the rockets fire when the missile reaches the surface. At its fastest, the missile travels at over 13,000 mph. Each Vanguard boat has 16 missile tubes, and each missile has the ability to deliver 8 warheads. Each individual warhead is about eight times more powerful than the nuclear bomb used at Hiroshima in World War II [20]

See also

• List of active Royal Navy ships
• List of Royal Navy equipment

References

1. Royal Navy 4.5" Mark 8 naval gun (archive), royalnavy.mod.uk, Retrieved 11 June 2014
2. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/625454/July_Desider_2017-small.pdf
3. "Atherstone Increasing the Calibre of MCM". royalnavy.mod.uk. Ministry of Defence. November 25, 2014. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
4. Royal Navy Gunnery (archive), royalnavy.mod.uk, Retrieved 11 June 2014
5. "HMS Daring's Warfare Department". Royal Navy website. Archived from the original on 2010-06-16. Retrieved 2010-06-08.
6. Royal Navy Phalanx (archive), royalnavy.mod.uk, Retrieved 11 June 2014
7. Royal Navy Spearfish Torpedo (archive), royalnavy.mod.uk, Retrieved 11 June 2014
8. BAE Systems Spearfish torpedo, baesystems.com
9. Royal Navy Sting Ray torpedo (archive), royalnavy.mod.uk, Retrieved 11 June 2014
10. Michael Fallon (9 October 2014). "Type 26 Global Combat Ship" (PDF). parliament.uk. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
11. Royal Navy Sea Wolf (archive), royalnavy.mod.uk, Retrieved 11 June 2014
12. "Missile success for HMS Westminster as second ship to fire new Sea Ceptor". www.royalnavy.mod.uk. Retrieved 2018-03-21.
13. Royal Navy Sea Viper (archive), royalnavy.mod.uk, Retrieved 11 June 2014
14. Royal Navy Harpoon (archive), royalnavy.mod.uk, Retrieved 11 June 2014
15. https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/britains-new-ship-to-ship-missile/
16. "Light Naval Strike: MBDA's Sea Venom / ANL Missile". Defense Industry Daily. 19 December 2018.
17. Royal Navy Tomahawk missile (archive), royalnavy.mod.uk, Retrieved 11 June 2014
18. Tomahawk Cancellation an Error of Defense Strategy and Alliance Policy, heritage.org, 2 April 2014
19. TUnited Kingdom - Tomahawk Block IV Torpedo Launched Land-Attack Missiles, .dsca.mil, 1 July 2014
20. Royal Navy Trident (archive), royalnavy.mod.uk, Retrieved 11 June 2014

External links

• Royal Navy (royalnavy.mod.uk)
• Royal Navy — The Equipment — Ships (royalnavy.mod.uk)