BARROW PART OF THE MARS FLEET BUILD SOLUTION
Barrow could have a major role to play in delivering the future MARS (The Military Afloat Reach Sustainability programme) 10-17 ship fleet which will support future aircraft carrier task force replenishment, and assist with a variety of other naval operations including forward support of amphibious landing forces.
Barrow superberth could be used to build two MARS ships simultaneously (illustrated right).
The ‘MARS’ programme envisages ships of up to 240m length and 30m beam. A 25,000 tonne Joint Casualty Receiving ship and several (perhaps up to 40,000 tonnes displacement) vessels designed to carry:-
- Ammunition, stores and fuel to the fleet.
- Logistics support to troops operating well inland.
- Forward deployed helicopters.
All MARS ships could incorporate an Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) role. The ships might include facilities for basing 6 ASW 'Merlin' helicopters or 6 medium support helicopters on them, thereby offering 'second line' aviation maintenance/repair services, as well as providing rapid embarkation, command and control for Special Forces. Individual MARS ships could also operate alone in, for example, drug interdiction roles.
MARS ships will either carry out single ship operations or support:-
- An amphibious task group
- Dispersed ships
- A medium sized brigade ashore
- Special forces
- Joint forces aviation
The 'force projection' role of the Royal Navy requires three key tasks to be fulfilled by MARS:-
- Fighting ships to be supplied with bulk consumables - fuel, food, ammunition, stores and water.
- Joint sea based logistics support and sustainment to be provided to land forces from the sea to locations potentially well inland from the beachhead and then sustain their operations. The ships would also act as a forward maintenance facility for helicopters.
- A 150 bed, 8 operating theatre Joint Casualty Receiving Ship (JCRS) able to operate in the combat theatre and return treated personnel back into combat with two helipads to be delivered.
The MARS ships would operate in areas under threat and be armed and therefore classed as 'grey' or 'warlike'. They should therefore be built, outfitted and commissioned in UK shipyards such as Barrow in Furness.
Although they are likely to be larger than the recent Barrow built ‘AO’ ‘Wave Knight’, they could be built two at a time on the Barrow superberth and outfitted in Buccleuch Dock.
In our view there should be no need for the Ministry of Defence to procure MARS ships from Europe. "Looking to European yards to see what efficiencies they have achieved in this field and to consider all options including what opportunities exist, if any, for skills transfer to the UK".(Source: MARS Industry Days 13th & 20th January 2004) is not a view supported by KOFAC.
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MARS ships may operate alongside the Royal Navy’s new Amphibious Assault ships HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark. Both assault ships were designed and built in Barrow and MARS may share technology devised for the LPD. Build of the MARS ships could be programmed to help fill the communications and other gaps between submarine orders to help sustain the UK’s naval shipbuilding skills base in Barrow and its supply chain.
Barrow shipyard's extensive warship operating and building experience could allow cost effective MARS build using the New Assembly Shop, superberth and facilities to permit modular build, with a high degree of systems integration prior to ship launch.
Current status
| The design and construction skills at Barrow should be used to transfer the expertise developed on the build of HMS Ocean helicopter carrier and AO Wave Knight to facilitate modernization of the support fleet and build of a ‘first of class’ MARS ship. (Source: Afloat Support IPT presentation, London, 15th July 2003) |
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We believe that a novel approach to building MARS should be adopted – rather than looks at a target in-service date, the ships should be built as part of a programme designed to even out troughs in build programmes so as to help maintain the UK’s warship building skills. |
