Sunday, February 22, 2026
RFA Argus is due to leave HMNB Portsmouth for the final time on Monday 23 February
- Final Service: Argus served in several major conflicts and humanitarian operations, including the 1982 Falklands War (as MV Contender Bezant) and the 1991 Gulf War, before its final role as a Primary Casualty Receiving Ship.
- Reason for Disposal: Despite plans to keep the vessel in service beyond 2030, a 5-month overhaul in 2025 failed to resolve critical issues, including propeller shaft leaks and problems with fire doors, causing the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and Lloyds Register to withdraw its safety certification.
- Fate: The ship, which was last active, will be scrapped, marking the end of its long career.
German company Anschütz has delivered and commissioned its SYNAPSIS integrated navigation and bridge system (INBS) for the first vessel of the Brazilian Navy’s new Tamandaré-class frigate program.
Tamandaré, the first of four ships built by SPE Águas Azuis at TKMS Estaleiro Brasil Sul in Itajaí, is scheduled to be incorporated early this year and marks an important milestone in one of Brazil’s most advanced naval shipbuilding programs.
The SYNAPSIS INBS delivered for the frigate builds on standardized navigation technologies. This approach supports high system reliability, streamlined maintenance, and sustained operational readiness throughout the vessel’s life cycle.
The system includes multifunctional workstations hosting radar, electronic chart display and information systems (ECDIS), conning and other navigational functions, CCTV integration, a complete steering control system with autopilot, and the GMDSS (global maritime distress and safety system).
At its core, the SYNAPSIS integration platform ensures consistent data processing, a uniform human–machine interface and centralised monitoring across the bridge. This provides the crew with a clear operational picture and supports safe navigation during transit, manoeuvring and mission‑specific operations.
The scalable design allows the Brazilian Navy to adapt and extend the INBS throughout the frigate’s service life through functional updates, additional sensor integration, or evolving operational requirements. This ensures long‑term flexibility and helps maintain operational effectiveness over decades of service.
The Tamandaré class program includes substantial technology transfer in naval engineering, platform and combat system integration, logistics support and life cycle management. In alignment with this approach, the local team at Anschuetz do Brasil has been responsible for commissioning, sea trials and systems integration and will remain the Navy’s point of contact for technical service and maintenance throughout the life of the ships
Designed as a modern multi‑role frigate, the first Tamandaré-class vessel will provide broad operational capability, ranging from maritime security and patrol duties to support for joint and international missions.
The launch of Tamandaré and its upcoming commissioning represent major milestones within the frigate program. In August last year, the vessel completed sea trials off the coast of Brazil, marking a decisive step toward the delivery.
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Friday, February 20, 2026
Britain demonstrates commitment to AUKUS through submarine visit to Australia
The Royal Navy Astute-class nuclear-powered submarine HMS AnsonUK Ministry of Defence/Andrew Linnett
The imminent visit to Perth of a British nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN) clearly demonstrates Britain’s commitment to AUKUS, going ahead despite the Royal Navy’s current challenges in deploying its SSNs. The visit is also a reminder of the benefits to all three members of the security partnership.
While concerns have been raised about Britain’s capacity to carry its burden in the submarine program, its involvement is not the riskiest aspect of Australia’s acquisition plan. The largest risks are closer to home.
The submarine hasn’t been officially identified but can be assumed to be HMS Anson, reportedly the only British SSN available for deployment. One of six completed Astute-class submarines, Anson should arrive at HMAS Stirling, a naval base just south of Perth, within a few weeks.
The visit is an early step on the optimal pathway under AUKUS pillar one, the part of the security partnership that deals with the construction and delivery of nuclear submarines, and it will fulfil a commitment that the British government gave last year for such a visit in 2026.
Anson will likely undergo a maintenance period at Stirling, as USS Vermont, a Virginia-class SSN, did in November. The optimal pathway programmed these and earlier visits to help build up Stirling as a permanent operating base for British and US SSNs beginning in 2027.
This presence will be known as Submarine Rotational Force – West (SRF-W). Its main purpose is to give Australia operating and maintenance expertise with the Virginia-class boats, some of which are intended to be in Australian service from the early 2030s, and with the Astutes, from which the following SSN-AUKUS design will be evolved. It is scheduled to begin equipping the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) in the early 2040s.
Britain's position is consistent with the 2025 Strategic Defence Review’s principle that 'NATO first' doesn’t mean 'NATO only'.
When SRF-W is fully operational, allied and Australian personnel will develop the maintenance and support capabilities ashore, and Australian sailors will deploy in increasing numbers on US and British nuclear submarines to develop operational expertise. All three nations already exchange personnel on SSNs, so RAN officers and sailors and US counterparts are almost certainly members of Anson’s crew.
The Royal Navy and the US Navy also gain benefits from SRF-W, especially an ability to support operations at a strategically important location, even though this is not the deployment plan’s main purpose. Their submarines assigned to this side of the world won’t need to go home for supplies, crew rotations and deeper maintenance, so they can spend more time on Indo-Pacific patrols.
In addition, SSN support facilities at Stirling and at shipyards in nearby Henderson when complete will be among the most modern such facilities available. They’ll offer submarine training facilities (including for submarine escape), nuclear-capable industrial capacity and dedicated nearby exercise areas. In particular, the Western Australian Exercise Area and the adjacent Lancelin Defence Training Area allow for integrated exercises with multiple platforms and capabilities, creating realistic and instrumented training opportunities.
The enduring presence of SSNs could also afford more chances for close collaboration on developing capabilities under pillar two of AUKUS, the partnership’s research and development and technology-sharing component.
Indeed, the visiting British SSN is an opportunity to support work in the undersea-warfare stream of pillar two. This would build on operational testing of AI-enhanced capabilities on P-8A Poseidons and underwater autonomous systems communications during last year’s Talisman Sabre exercise.
Sending Anson to Australia has nonetheless attracted controversy in Britain, with critics pointing to the low availability of British SSNs and doubting that SRF-W and AUKUS should have priority over NATO and Atlantic security.
The British Government says that the risk is manageable and that its commitment to Australia and AUKUS will bring long-term benefits. This position is consistent with the 2025 Strategic Defence Review’s principle that "NATO first" doesn’t mean "NATO only".
The visit shows London honouring its commitments even when doing so looks inconvenient from an Atlantic perspective.
Strategic benefits of SRF-W for Britain beyond AUKUS include supporting any British contribution to the defence of Taiwan or participating in another Indo-Pacific security contingency. This includes being able to put at risk elements of Russia’s Pacific Fleet, Eastern Military District and their broader Indo-Pacific military presence.
The ability to impose costs on Russia in the northern and western Pacific helps deterrence in Europe, and a capacity to send SSNs to the Indian Ocean complicates Chinese calculations.
Britain’s involvement in AUKUS recently attracted further criticism in Australia, based on the comments of retired Rear Admiral Philip Mathias, a former director of nuclear policy at Britain’s Ministry of Defence. Mathias said future British capacity constraints, centred on a shortfall in skills and industrial investment, means there is a high probability the British element of AUKUS will fail.
While the issues he identifies are real, they are being addressed, not least with Australian financial contributions to British industrial capacity.
It’s worth emphasising that, among Australia’s risks in pillar one, Britain’s involvement is not the highest.
For Britain, the program will and must provide the successors to the Astutes. The country has been in the business of building SSNs since 1959 and intends to stay in it. Indeed, its Strategic Defence Review called for a fleet of up to 12 SSNs (up from the previous plan for seven). This could prove to be too ambitious, and the number of boats or their delivery times could change, but there can be little doubt that Britain will build an SSN class to replace the Astutes, regardless of AUKUS.
Rather, Australia’s greater pillar one risks are with its own capacity and perhaps even its perseverance. It is to build its own SSN-AUKUS boats but has no experience in building nuclear submarines. The challenge will be only partly mitigated by using a British design and major technological inputs from the US and Britain, including complete reactors from Rolls-Royce.
Yes, Britain needs to ramp up its nuclear submarine industry, but Australia doesn’t have one; it’s having to start from zero.
Anson’s visit is part of the plan to reduce such risks. It is, admittedly, a relatively small part of the pillar one effort, but it brings other benefits for both Britain and Australia and shows London honouring its commitments even when doing so looks inconvenient from an Atlantic perspective.
This demonstrates in a practical way Britain’s commitment to designing and building the SSN-AUKUS class. From an Australian perspective, whatever else is happening in AUKUS, this is something we should be happy about.
This article is part of a series about the Australia-UK strategic partnership. The British High Commission, Canberra, is supporting publication of the series, but the authors are responsible for the content.
Article reprinted with permission from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute's analysis and commentary site The Strategist.
The Royal Navy Astute-class nuclear-powered submarine HMS AnsonUK Ministry of Defence/Andrew Linnett
The imminent visit to Perth of a British nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN) clearly demonstrates Britain’s commitment to AUKUS, going ahead despite the Royal Navy’s current challenges in deploying its SSNs. The visit is also a reminder of the benefits to all three members of the security partnership.
While concerns have been raised about Britain’s capacity to carry its burden in the submarine program, its involvement is not the riskiest aspect of Australia’s acquisition plan. The largest risks are closer to home.
The submarine hasn’t been officially identified but can be assumed to be HMS Anson, reportedly the only British SSN available for deployment. One of six completed Astute-class submarines, Anson should arrive at HMAS Stirling, a naval base just south of Perth, within a few weeks.
The visit is an early step on the optimal pathway under AUKUS pillar one, the part of the security partnership that deals with the construction and delivery of nuclear submarines, and it will fulfil a commitment that the British government gave last year for such a visit in 2026.
Anson will likely undergo a maintenance period at Stirling, as USS Vermont, a Virginia-class SSN, did in November. The optimal pathway programmed these and earlier visits to help build up Stirling as a permanent operating base for British and US SSNs beginning in 2027.
This presence will be known as Submarine Rotational Force – West (SRF-W). Its main purpose is to give Australia operating and maintenance expertise with the Virginia-class boats, some of which are intended to be in Australian service from the early 2030s, and with the Astutes, from which the following SSN-AUKUS design will be evolved. It is scheduled to begin equipping the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) in the early 2040s.
Britain's position is consistent with the 2025 Strategic Defence Review’s principle that 'NATO first' doesn’t mean 'NATO only'.
When SRF-W is fully operational, allied and Australian personnel will develop the maintenance and support capabilities ashore, and Australian sailors will deploy in increasing numbers on US and British nuclear submarines to develop operational expertise. All three nations already exchange personnel on SSNs, so RAN officers and sailors and US counterparts are almost certainly members of Anson’s crew.
The Royal Navy and the US Navy also gain benefits from SRF-W, especially an ability to support operations at a strategically important location, even though this is not the deployment plan’s main purpose. Their submarines assigned to this side of the world won’t need to go home for supplies, crew rotations and deeper maintenance, so they can spend more time on Indo-Pacific patrols.
In addition, SSN support facilities at Stirling and at shipyards in nearby Henderson when complete will be among the most modern such facilities available. They’ll offer submarine training facilities (including for submarine escape), nuclear-capable industrial capacity and dedicated nearby exercise areas. In particular, the Western Australian Exercise Area and the adjacent Lancelin Defence Training Area allow for integrated exercises with multiple platforms and capabilities, creating realistic and instrumented training opportunities.
The enduring presence of SSNs could also afford more chances for close collaboration on developing capabilities under pillar two of AUKUS, the partnership’s research and development and technology-sharing component.
Indeed, the visiting British SSN is an opportunity to support work in the undersea-warfare stream of pillar two. This would build on operational testing of AI-enhanced capabilities on P-8A Poseidons and underwater autonomous systems communications during last year’s Talisman Sabre exercise.
Sending Anson to Australia has nonetheless attracted controversy in Britain, with critics pointing to the low availability of British SSNs and doubting that SRF-W and AUKUS should have priority over NATO and Atlantic security.
The British Government says that the risk is manageable and that its commitment to Australia and AUKUS will bring long-term benefits. This position is consistent with the 2025 Strategic Defence Review’s principle that "NATO first" doesn’t mean "NATO only".
The visit shows London honouring its commitments even when doing so looks inconvenient from an Atlantic perspective.
Strategic benefits of SRF-W for Britain beyond AUKUS include supporting any British contribution to the defence of Taiwan or participating in another Indo-Pacific security contingency. This includes being able to put at risk elements of Russia’s Pacific Fleet, Eastern Military District and their broader Indo-Pacific military presence.
The ability to impose costs on Russia in the northern and western Pacific helps deterrence in Europe, and a capacity to send SSNs to the Indian Ocean complicates Chinese calculations.
Britain’s involvement in AUKUS recently attracted further criticism in Australia, based on the comments of retired Rear Admiral Philip Mathias, a former director of nuclear policy at Britain’s Ministry of Defence. Mathias said future British capacity constraints, centred on a shortfall in skills and industrial investment, means there is a high probability the British element of AUKUS will fail.
While the issues he identifies are real, they are being addressed, not least with Australian financial contributions to British industrial capacity.
It’s worth emphasising that, among Australia’s risks in pillar one, Britain’s involvement is not the highest.
For Britain, the program will and must provide the successors to the Astutes. The country has been in the business of building SSNs since 1959 and intends to stay in it. Indeed, its Strategic Defence Review called for a fleet of up to 12 SSNs (up from the previous plan for seven). This could prove to be too ambitious, and the number of boats or their delivery times could change, but there can be little doubt that Britain will build an SSN class to replace the Astutes, regardless of AUKUS.
Rather, Australia’s greater pillar one risks are with its own capacity and perhaps even its perseverance. It is to build its own SSN-AUKUS boats but has no experience in building nuclear submarines. The challenge will be only partly mitigated by using a British design and major technological inputs from the US and Britain, including complete reactors from Rolls-Royce.
Yes, Britain needs to ramp up its nuclear submarine industry, but Australia doesn’t have one; it’s having to start from zero.
Anson’s visit is part of the plan to reduce such risks. It is, admittedly, a relatively small part of the pillar one effort, but it brings other benefits for both Britain and Australia and shows London honouring its commitments even when doing so looks inconvenient from an Atlantic perspective.
This demonstrates in a practical way Britain’s commitment to designing and building the SSN-AUKUS class. From an Australian perspective, whatever else is happening in AUKUS, this is something we should be happy about.
This article is part of a series about the Australia-UK strategic partnership. The British High Commission, Canberra, is supporting publication of the series, but the authors are responsible for the content.
Article reprinted with permission from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute's analysis and commentary site The Strategist.
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Guided missile cruiser USS Little Rock (CLG-4) underway, 8 November 1962.
Guided missile cruiser USS Little Rock (CLG-4) underway, 8 November 1962.
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