Royal Navy Submarine Legacy’s Sad Deathbed

[SVPete]

Royal Navy Submarine Legacy’s Sad Deathbed

https://cdrsalamander.substack.com/p/royal-navy-submarine-legacys-sad

Some posts are just sad to write, but they are often the ones you need to write. It is no fun watching a friend intentionally and deliberately destroy themselves for no reason. I guess it is time to pick up the conversation we had back in March and June.

When I first saw this, I thought, ‘This is reporting from The Sun. Just tabloid trash.’

Not a single submarine commander passed the legendary Perisher course last year.
…
Only three were selected to attempt it, with two failing at the simulator stage.

Surface ships fared little better with less than ten officers passing the command qualification known as CQ2.

The Navy needs 35 passes a year to sustain its sea commands.

Sources say the only reason the shortage has not affected operations is because so many ships have been scrapped or stuck in port for repairs.

Senior naval sources told Defence Eye that the Royal Navy has not run a Submarine Command Course, which qualifies officers to take command of its submarines, since December 2024.
...
For the past two years, the Royal Navy Astute-class fleet has been hit by a series of breakdowns and a long maintenance backlog. This year alone, it has only been able to put one boat, HMS Anson, to sea for a four month-long cruise to Australia. Since she returned to Devonport naval base for repairs in May no Astute boats have been recorded as going to sea.

With no boats available for operational tasking, it is not a surprise that training has had to be put on the back burner by the Royal Navy. The naval source briefed Defence Eye on the status of the Perisher Course in response to criticism from Australia, that the UK was unable to generate trained personnel to operate its submarines to meet its commitments under the AUKUS deal.

What submarines the British do have don’t get much underway time. You can’t be the best at something—or at least moderately competent—if you don’t actually do it. I don’t fault those who failed.

There is no serious person who thinks there is the political or economic ability right now for a serious recovery in British military capability at sea or ashore, regardless of who gives what speech. How much further can it fall? Things can always get worse, but all the wiggle room is gone.
...
On paper, the Royal Navy today has 10 submarines: six SSN and four SSBN. Only a small fraction of those are combat-ready or could be made combat-ready in a reasonable time.

The US Navy today has 81 submarines: 53 fast attack submarines, 14 ballistic-missile submarines and four guided-missile submarines.

In the mid-1980s, at the height of the Cold War, the Royal Navy had 32+/- submarines:

4 SSBN

28 SSN and SSK patrol submarines.

At the same time, the US Navy had roughly 138 submarines:

37 SSBN

97 SSN

4 SSK

The Royal Navy’s relative collapse is shocking. Since the mid-1980s, the US Navy’s submarine force has shrunk to 59% of its 1985 level. The Royal Navy’s submarine force has shrunk to 31% of its 1985 level. ...

A couple of decades ago, the RN's submarine force professionalism matched the professionalism of the USN's submarine force. The UK government has gutted the Royal Navy without having the Great Depression as an excuse (as was the case in the 1930s when RN budgets suffered).

[DefiantSix]

You know what's really frightening about this?

The UK is a country whose ENTIRE nuclear deterrent is aboard their submarine force.