This is the Type 26 Frigate, which will be the new generation of fighting ships entering service with the Royal Austrailian Navy. The order is for nine ships, which will be built in Australia, but using a design engineered by BAE Systems, ahead of other potential European designs.
The new ships will give the Australian Government a cutting-edge force to act as deterrent and security of her coastline and are seen as a suitable replacement for the "Anzac" group of frigates.
The ships will be built at the Government's yard in Adelaide by ASC shipbuilding and is expected to create around 4000 jobs in Australia. Although there shouldn't be many extra jobs in the UK there will be a large increase in exports and military equipment supply. And also scope for future orders with other nations.
The military capabilities of the Type 26 have already been discussed in a previous article, but the ships are designed for anti-submarine and air-defence activity.
The Royal Navy currently has eight of the Frigates on order, being built on the Clyde and are expected to begin entering service sometime in the 2020's.
There have been many surprises in recent months from the industrial titan Elon Musk and his Tesla Motor Group, not least of all blasting a car into space via his SpaceX Rockets.
Presently, Tesla Cars are rushing to get their Freemont, California car plant up and running and in full production. And with time fast running out, Tesla hopes to be producing 5000 cars, by the end of June 2018. A radical step has been taken to speed up the works in the form of a 1000ft hanger like structure, similar to a tent, being raised within the grounds of the car plant. Built using available on-site materials and erected in less than two weeks, "the tent" is expected to become a finishing point for the assembled vehicles.
Tesla's Model 3 an electric car, aimed at the mass consumer market, should cost around £26k and there are already future orders on the books for over a half-million units. The projected figure of 5k cars per week is hoped to turn the company profitable after a series of setbacks and delays.
Although there is a certain level of scepticism from analysts and numerous factions of the financial world. Although others see this as an ingenuous attempt to side-step an otherwise expensive and time consuming construction of a more traditional assembly line.
August 10 Update
Despite improving revenues Tesla is said to be slipping to even bigger losses, although sales remain ahead of forecasts of £3bn for the second quarter of it's financial year. Now stringent efforts are being made to ramp up production of the Model 3 to 6k units per week by the end of August. The eventual desired figure will be 10,000, units per week and as soon as this is viable.
These are difficult times for the manufacturer, with losses reaching £547m The efforts to increase production are causing Tesla to spend billions of extra dollars, increasing long term debt to as much as £8.2bn.
Had to spend a little time working upon this Banner, not just a case of doing the work myself but I'm trying to build a "team" of people who may help me in the future. Which means encouraging and using a certain young woman whom is working upon a degree in photography, a very useful person as I'm hardly a photographic genius, even in the digital age.
The subject is very important as well, the Langdale Pikes, on the left, a part of my family grew up in the shadow of these majestic fells. If you live in the Lakes, you may as well extol the virtues of the area. In fact, just turn up at Waterhead, any time of the year and there's always a number of people with varying camera skills, taking shots of more or less the same image. So to get something a bit different and more or less unique, thanks to the cloud, is something of an achievement.
And the book cover, well I had to do that myself, using the Amazon Book Cover Designer and certainly not easy, but until I can organize something more interesting, the image will do the job. Really I could do with some help from a friend and not someone wanting to make buck! You're always thinking to yourself one day you'll get some book deal, and all these problems will be sorted.
With something of an history and the rise of the Japanese Imperial Navy, 1867 - 1947 built along the lines of Britain's Royal Navy. The Japanese fleet scored remarkable victories over her enemies in the Sino - Japanese War of 1894 - 95 and the Russo - Japanese war of 1904 - 05. Followed by the complete destruction of her maritime fleet against the allies in the Second World War.
Her new fleet of warships is built under the rules of the Japanese Self - Defence Force which allows no operations of a offensive nature, by constitution and public opinion. Still her ships can make up a sizable force which would hold some force if ever called into action.
Perhaps somewhat surprisingly there are as many as seventeen attack and patrol submarines and more to be added, four large helicopter support ships, eight guided missile destroyers as many as eighteen other destroyers and twelve frigates, with perhaps another sixty - plus support ships. As well as these a number of new and modern fighting ships planned and in production.
Japan has recently stepped up production of Military Naval vessels to bolster her East Chinese Fleet, springing from one 5000 Ton Class Destroyers a year, to two 3000 ton Class ships per year. Aiming for an eventual compliment of eight of the new ships.
Recently, or more often than we are told, the UK had to "scramble" jet fighters to "see off" Russian long range military aircraft, from entering home airspace. We are told this is "aggression" and Russia is keen to "extend her influence!"
But in future, when such events occur again, why not invite them to land at a designated airbase and even offer them a free re-fuel? After all we're not at war, in fact we've probably got a lot in common and besides there are already quite a few Russian citizens living in the UK.
Princess Charlotte, the two yer old daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge has this week, attended her first day at the nearby Wilcock's Nursery School in London. The above photograph was taken by her mother on the steps of Kensington Palace before Charlotte, was taken to Wilcock's to begin her first day at the highly rated school.
HMS Ocean, Flagship, pride of the fleet, etc. Is very likely to be sold in a deal with Brazil, for an estimated £84million. Though it seems people in some quarters are unhappy with the decision to sell so soon (four years) after a major overhaul which cost an estimated £65million. The Royal Navy's current Flagship, will be decommissioned later this year and the money to be used to finance other defence projects.
The ship, one of three, built in 1995 as Helicopter Support Ships, though later adapted to carry the Harrier Jump Jet, took part in the Iraq War of 2003 and the Libyan campaign of 2013. It is argued the sale of the ship will greatly reduce the navy's capability of making any form of amphibious assault, should the need ever arise. At the same time all Britain's armed forces are suffering from an extreme case of under funding and the reduction of equipment and re-employment of manpower must be taken into consideration as part of the future military focus.
Also there is a certain need to take the age of the vessel into consideration and her admirable service record, also our good relations with Brazil as a future potential Allie. Also Britain will soon bolster her commitments with the arrival of the Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers and the new planned frigates.
