As part of the preparations for its future deployment in the Pacific alongside the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales, the British Type 23 frigate HMS Richmond has been equipped with new Link 16 Crypto Modernised systems, which will provide it with significantly enhanced capabilities to obtain and share tactical information about its operational environment with other fleet units via satellite. The vessel is currently en route from Devonport Naval Base to join the Canadian frigate HMCS Ville de Québec, before integrating as an escort of the United Kingdom Carrier Strike Group.
To justify the installation of these new capabilities on the Type 23 frigate in question, the Royal Navy stated that it is due to the need to improve the fleet’s own reaction capabilities, considering that modern naval combat occurs at extremely high speed, and the rapid exchange of threat information is essential to counter them. It is also worth noting that this capability was originally planned to be added to the ship at a later time, but the associated work was accelerated in order to have it completed ahead of the deployment to the Indo-Pacific.
In this regard, Captain Dave Downie, principal officer of the Maritime Multi Link program, stated: “Many important lessons have been learned from this first-class version, which the team will use to refine installations for the remaining Type 23 fleet (…) This is a brilliant collaborative achievement for all involved in the MML enterprise, from the headquarters team at Navy Command, the Situational Awareness and Command and Control DT at DE&S, the industry teams at BAES and Relay, and the valuable support of the ship’s company of HMS Richmond.”
Returning to the ship’s role in the HMS Prince of Wales deployment, it should be mentioned that the frigate will be primarily responsible for providing protection to the British Strike Group against submarine threats, also operating a Merlin Mk2 helicopter from the 814 Naval Air Squadron to support its task. That said, it may also be involved in other types of operations, considering that it is equipped with Sea Ceptor missiles should aerial threats arise, as well as capabilities to conduct boarding operations in missions aimed at countering smuggling or piracy.
Finally, it is worth recalling that the Royal Navy will deploy, as part of its Strike Group, the Type 45 destroyer HMS Dauntless, an Astute-class submarine, and the support ship RFA Tidespring. The flagship will be the aforementioned HMS Prince of Wales, which will carry a total of 24 F-35B stealth fighters, along with the new Malloy T-150 cargo drones for resupply tasks; this will be the first time these drones replace helicopters as the platform responsible for transporting packages between vessels. Broadening the scope further, this will be a deployment involving 4,000 British personnel (around 2,500 from the Royal Navy, 900 from the British Army, and 592 from the Royal Air Force), and will also include the deployment of the Spanish Navy frigate Méndez Núñez (F-104) and elements of the Royal Norwegian Navy.
Image credits: Royal Navy
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