British and allied warships face a challenging new world order when they undergo demanding training at the hands of the Royal Navy.
Warships undertaking Operational Sea Training – the benchmark for every Royal Navy, Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessel and many NATO allies to pass prior to deploying on operations anywhere around the world – will be tested on how they respond to a complex new scenario which better reflects the world of 2023 and beyond.
It replaces the existing backstory which thousands of sailors and hundreds of ships undertaking OST have experienced for the past 28 years.
The old scenario – the fictional nations of Brownia and Ginger at loggerheads with the latter proving increasingly bellicose and warships called upon to perform a series of tasks to ensure the safe passage of shipping, dubbed Operation Renaissance – no longer adequately reflects the global geo-strategic situation and the challenges and tasks Royal Navy and Allied warships potentially face today.
So the war fought at sea, on land, and in the air – especially on a Tuesday and a Thursday – is finally over. The final acts of aggression between Ginger and Brownia were suppressed in mid-July by the German frigate FGS Oldenburg.
Despite scoring multiple hits on every Royal Navy, Royal Fleet Auxiliary, and international allies’ warships, which have put to sea over the past 28 years, Ginger forces once again failed to keep pace with the advances in capability and tactics needed to stay relevant in today’s modern operating environment.
They were regularly rebuffed by the professionalism and determination of NATO sailors (aided by the timely delivery of action snacks) but the final defeat came because Ginger no longer represented, as an enemy, the relevancy and operational challenge that we needed, in order to deliver on current and future operations.
Replacing the long-standing scenario is a new ‘background story’: four fictitious nations with competing domestic and international ambitions requiring naval intervention under the banner of ‘Operation Mayflower’.
It’s been developed by the experts at Fleet Operational Standards and Training (FOST) in Devonport in conjunction with Inzpire Defence Limited.
While the new scenario won’t affect some of the core fundamentals of Royal Navy training – such as how sailors cope with fires, flooding and equipment breaking down, it will introduce modern warfare threats, such as in the cyber and electromagnetic domains, affecting how sensors, systems and weapons are operated.
It will also test Command teams more in higher level Command and Control, giving them additional freedoms in deciding courses of action whilst better understanding the ambiguity that often results from this.
And it allows the FOST team, who will continually refine and tweak the training scenario as required, to deliver what warships and their crews need in a challenging and relevant geopolitical environment, preparing them for contemporary operations.
“This change is long overdue,” said Captain Andrew Canale, Captain FOST (Ships). “I am pleased with the way my team combined with Inzpire to develop a new, modern and contemporary strategic exercise scenario that better reflects the world we live in today and prepares our ships and those of our international partners for the operational challenges of tomorrow.
“This work has been a significant undertaking, conducted over several months and to an excellent standard.”
This is one of several collaborations between FOST (Ships) and Inzpire. Both have already combined effectively to develop improved gunnery training against autonomous targets on an instrumented sea range to improve marksmanship, and on future synthetic training solutions under the Platform Enabled Training Concept.
Notes:
About FOST:
FOST trains our ships and those of our partners’ navies to fight and win against peer adversaries in order to ensure success in combat now and in the future. Instructors from the Fleet Operational Standards and Training (FOST) organisation, with its headquarters in Portsmouth, provide training for all Royal Navy ships, submarines and task forces, and are the experts in preparing sailors and their vessels for operations worldwide.
FOST has a global reputation for exacting the highest professional standards and operational excellence and trains allied navies for national and NATO duties. Since the creation of FOST 65 years ago, warships from more than 20 nations have undergone the rigors of FOST training.
About Inzpire:
Founded in 2005, Inzpire is a multi-award-winning supplier of advanced defence training, technical services and cutting-edge mission systems. The company is a trusted partner of the UK MOD and employs highly experienced former military personnel who work alongside defence engineers and business professionals to deliver operationally credible solutions to military, private and public sector customers.
