| UK. Royal Navy unveils new amphibious landing ship |
|
|
|
| Monday, 13 November 2006 | |
|
Government news: The Royal Navy has unveiled her latest amphibious landing ship, Royal Fleet Auxiliary Largs Bay, which is undergoing sea trails off the south coast prior to entering service later this year. This state-of-the-art 16,000 tonne landing ship is more than twice the size of her predecessors. At 177 meters long, she can carry two Chinook helicopters as deck cargo whilst operating a third from her flight deck. Specially designed to deliver vehicles, troops and equipment ashore – even when there are no harbours available - she can travel up to 8,000 miles at 15 knots and can accelerate to speeds around 17 Knots. Her vast storage decks, almost the size of a football pitch, are able to carry 32 Challenger II Main Battle Tanks as well as over 350 fully armed troops, landing craft and supporting stores. The head of the Royal Navy, First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Jonathan Band said: "The introduction into service of the Bay Class ships marks the completion of the programme to replace the UK's amphibious shipping. These ships represent a major uplift in the Royal Navy's war fighting capability. RFA Largs Bay will allow us to deploy more people and equipment more quickly to trouble spots around the world. This Landing Ship Dock (Auxiliary) Programme has seen an important capability introduced into the Royal Navy against a challenging timeline. I look forward to following their progress on operations." |
|
| Last Updated ( Monday, 13 November 2006 ) |
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|