Britannia Squeeks

The Royal Navy has spent the past 14 weeks gearing up a mine countermeasures response to send to the Persian Gulf region. That mission will be the 16,000-ton civilian-manned Bay-class auxiliary RFA Lyme Bay (L3007), loaded up with lots of sorta ad-hoc bits and pieces, including the Video Ray Defender-Viper system, “four specialist mine-hunting vessels, three RHIBS, more than 20 containers packed full of tech,” and a skosh of good wishes. 20 May 2026 – HMS Stirling Castle is using their crane to load kit and equipment onto RFA Lyme Bay. RFA Lyme Bay receives a kit while in Gibraltar ahead of deployment to the Gulf. HMS Stirling Castle has transported and delivered kit, including drones and sea boats. The Bay-Class auxiliary ship is in Gibraltar, undergoing maintenance and loading vital kit for further operations. A closer look at Video Ray It really didn’t use to be this way. Just 30 years ago, the circa 1996 RN, a victor of the Cold War, had five brand new 465-ton Sandown class Single…

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