Latest news with #HMSPrinceOfWales
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
UK sailors convinced the Royal Navy to get a computer room on its newest aircraft carrier for esports and video games
The HMS Prince of Wales, a UK Royal Navy aircraft carrier, has a computer gaming suite. Petitioned for by sailors, it's fitted with Alienware gaming computers and a widescreen TV. Space can be tight on the 1,600-crew warship, but they got approval to set up the room in February. Decks below F-35B Lightning II fighters and Wildcat attack helicopters, Chief Petty Officer Martin Miller keeps watch over the Royal Navy's first-ever seafaring computer gaming room. It's not his main job, of course. Miller is one of two logistics store chiefs on board the HMS Prince of Wales, the UK's second aircraft carrier. Business Insider took a look inside the ship as it docked in Singapore during an eight-month deployment to the Indo-Pacific. Miller, the vice-chairman of the Royal Navy's esports committee, voluntarily manages the onboard gaming room, which was set up in February. After wrapping up a typical day at 8 p.m., Miller tends to spend a few hours in the suite, enjoying robust air conditioning and playing the strategy game "Sid Meier's Civilization VI." "Other ships have PlayStations and Xboxes down on the mess deck so they can play where they live, but this is the first ship that's got a PC setup like this," Miller said. Officially dubbed the ship's "esports suite," it's more like a computer lab for now. The facility is an old exam room fitted with LED lights, a widescreen TV, office chairs, and eight beefy Alienware gaming computers. While on the high seas, the carrier's internet is typically only good enough to support simple text messages, so sailors make do with local multiplayer games such as "Halo" and "Team Fortress 2." The suite's gaming gear is sponsored by the Royal Navy, which disburses funds to troops petitioning for official support in a sport. To get money, sports committees must prove their pastime has a large following within and outside the British forces. In March 2024, the UK's defense ministry recognized esports as a military sport, saying it valued digital skills associated with gaming and hoped the activity would help retain young talent. "If you're a top gamer, or a coder, your country needs you," UK Defense Minister John Healey said in a September speech. The ministry told BI that it launched a recruitment plan this year to "fast-track gamers into cyber defence roles," and that the suite was approved on the carrier to "enhance the lived experience of her sailors and foster social connections." One of the crew's selling points for the carrier's gaming suite is that it can be a tool for cross-rank team bonding. Mess halls are sometimes equipped with consoles for couch gaming titles like "Mario Kart," but free access to these rooms is bound by seniority. Miller said officers and leaders book the gaming suite via email about three times a week for their teams. Sailors also use it ad-hoc every evening while at sea, he said. Aircraft carriers and amphibious assault vessels, with hundreds or thousands of troops on board, often boast a range of recreational facilities. The Prince of Wales, commissioned in 2019, comes with ice baths, saunas, inflatable swimming pools, a golf simulator, three gyms, and karaoke. But with 1,600 crew, squadron staff, and marines aboard, space on the 72,000-ton vessel can be a luxury. Two of the suite's computers are unused because they can't fit in the room, and Miller said the committee has a near-impossible ambition of installing an F1 driving simulator rig. Sub-Lieutenant Joshua Hill, the treasurer of the Royal Navy's esports committee, told BI that its members have been setting up gaming suites like this one in the UK's naval bases. Warships are a different story, and getting a room to build a gaming suite on a carrier was an encouraging sign of Royal Navy support, Hill said. "A lot of our infrastructure in the Navy is used, so trying to find the space that they can give up is what we're struggling with at the moment," said Hill. He doesn't work on the carrier, but is an assistant logistics officer on the HMS Dauntless, an accompanying destroyer. Hill hopes this suite can serve as an example of how computer multiplayer games can be introduced to other UK warships. "The next step is, can we get connectivity?" he said. "That's kind of the aim for stuff on ships as a whole." Read the original article on Business Insider
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
UK aircraft carrier in Indo-Pacific on rare deployment
A British aircraft carrier has docked in Singapore on a rare Indo-Pacific deployment which will see it call on Australia, Japan, Korea and take part in several multinational exercises. HMS Prince of Wales' visit comes weeks after two Chinese aircraft carriers concluded simultaneous drills in the region, in an unprecedented move prompting Japan's protest. The carrier strike group's commander James Blackmore says he does not expect conflict with Chinese counterparts, noting the UK and China each "has every right to sail its ships in international sea space". "I almost expect they'll want to come and want to watch what we're doing... Lots of other parties will wish to witness what we're doing," he tells the BBC. "But I do recognise it will be safe and professional. That's the way we operate in the maritime." Just last week, China had criticised another British warship HMS Spey's passage through the Taiwan Strait as an act of "intentional provocation" that "undermines peace and stability". HMS Spey is one of two British warships - the other being HMS Tamar - permanently on patrol in the Indo-Pacific. HMS Prince of Wales, which docked in Singapore on Monday, is one of the UK Navy's largest ships with a flight deck large enough to fit three football pitches. During its eight-month deployment, HMS Prince of Wales will be supported by ships from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway and Spain, among others. The deployment begins with around 2,500 military personnel and will grow to over 4,500 for some key exercises. The warship's presence in the Indo-Pacific also comes at a time when Washington has become more unpredictable, which introduces uncertainty to military alliances in the region. For instance, it is now reviewing its multi-billion dollar submarine deal with the UK and Australia. Asked how crucial the Aukus pact is to his carrier strike group's mission, Commodore Blackmore declined to comment, noting that the deal is "being entirely dealt with at a government to government level". The group is headed down under next month to participate in an Australia-led exercise which will involve the US and other regional militaries. It will then sail through the Philippine Sea to Japan, where it will support Japanese authorities in developing the country's F-35 capability, Commodore Blackmore says. HMS Prince of Wales' deployment demonstrates the UK's commitment to the region, he adds. "It's about upholding a rules-based international order and recognising the importance of trade between a free and open Indo-Pacific and the European theatre," he says. On its way home in September, HMS Prince of Wales will take part in the annual warfighting exercise of the Five Power Defence Arrangements - referring to defence pacts between Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and the UK established in 1971. The last time a UK aircraft carrier joined these drills was in 1971.
Straits Times
24-04-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
UK PM Starmer nears EU defence pact in shadow of Trump trade talks
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer addresses the crew of the British aircraft carrier HMS Prince Of Wales in front of an F35 fighter aircraft in the hangar of the carrier, which is on an eight month operational deployment. RICHARD POHLE/Pool via REUTERS LONDON/WASHINGTON - Britain is edging towards a new defence agreement with the European Union that officials on both sides hope will help to improve post-Brexit ties following U.S. President Donald Trump's upending of security and trade alliances. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been trying to reset ties with the bloc since he was elected last year and his government has focused on security and defence first - an area of strength for Britain. That could pave the way for closer cooperation elsewhere, but Starmer needs to avoid appearing to move too closely towards Europe as his government is also seeking an improved economic deal with the United States to lower some U.S. import tariffs. Starmer will hold talks with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in London on Thursday and British and European officials are confident they will be able to strike a defence agreement at a planned Britain-EU summit next month. Miguel Berger, German ambassador to London, said on Thursday that the reset summit on May 19 was now taking place in a "very difficult geopolitical situation." "That makes it all the more important that European Union, the United Kingdom, the wider Europe, cooperate jointly as much as possible," he told a UK Trade and Business Commission event. The May summit will likely produce a communique setting out a timetable for negotiations on other areas where Britain and the EU could work together more closely, including energy, fish, food standards and youth mobility, Berger added. GEOPOLITICAL FALLOUT Britain, which left the EU in 2020 after a landmark 2016 referendum vote, is trying to navigate the geopolitical and economic fallout from Trump's imposition of worldwide tariffs and questioning of U.S. security protections for allies. Starmer's government was also elected on a mandate to grow the economy, a feat that has been made harder by tariff uncertainty threatening a global slowdown. Seeking to improve UK-U.S. trade ties and secure a reduction on some U.S. tariffs, British finance minister Rachel Reeves is due to meet U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Washington. Reeves on Wednesday said that Britain would not lower standards in sectors such as food or autos in pursuit of a deal with the U.S. but it was open to seeking a reduction in trade barriers between the two sides. As an example of the tightrope facing Britain, the U.S. could demand greater market access for those food producers which are already relatively aligned with UK standards, but London would not want to grant anything that either damages its own farmers or the prospects of greater UK-EU alignment on food. Britain could also lower its tariffs on U.S. cars. In Washington, Reeves also met with European finance ministers and called for greater defence co-operation on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings. Britain is hoping to be able to access the EU's new 150 billion euro rearmament fund, both to enable its companies like BAE to win contracts and to potentially do joint defence projects with EU countries. Starmer said earlier this year that he hoped for closer ties in areas including improving military mobility and logistics, protection from sabotage, developing military technology and deepening industrial collaboration. As part of the improved relations with Brussels, European leaders are also likely to demand a deal to allow young Europeans to live and work in Britain, a policy that risks angering those voters who backed Brexit, in part over concerns about immigration. Some in Starmer's party also agree with that policy, and more than 60 Labour lawmakers wrote to the minister handling EU negotiations in a letter released on Thursday calling for a youth visa scheme for British and European citizens under 30. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
24-04-2025
- Business
- The Star
UK PM Starmer nears EU defence pact in shadow of Trump trade talks
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer addresses the crew of the British aircraft carrier HMS Prince Of Wales in front of an F35 fighter aircraft in the hangar of the carrier, which is on an eight month operational deployment. RICHARD POHLE/Pool via REUTERS LONDON/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Britain is edging towards a new defence agreement with the European Union that officials on both sides hope will help to improve post-Brexit ties following U.S. President Donald Trump's upending of security and trade alliances. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been trying to reset ties with the bloc since he was elected last year and his government has focused on security and defence first - an area of strength for Britain. That could pave the way for closer cooperation elsewhere, but Starmer needs to avoid appearing to move too closely towards Europe as his government is also seeking an improved economic deal with the United States to lower some U.S. import tariffs. Starmer will hold talks with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in London on Thursday and British and European officials are confident they will be able to strike a defence agreement at a planned Britain-EU summit next month. Miguel Berger, German ambassador to London, said on Thursday that the reset summit on May 19 was now taking place in a "very difficult geopolitical situation." "That makes it all the more important that European Union, the United Kingdom, the wider Europe, cooperate jointly as much as possible," he told a UK Trade and Business Commission event. The May summit will likely produce a communique setting out a timetable for negotiations on other areas where Britain and the EU could work together more closely, including energy, fish, food standards and youth mobility, Berger added. GEOPOLITICAL FALLOUT Britain, which left the EU in 2020 after a landmark 2016 referendum vote, is trying to navigate the geopolitical and economic fallout from Trump's imposition of worldwide tariffs and questioning of U.S. security protections for allies. Starmer's government was also elected on a mandate to grow the economy, a feat that has been made harder by tariff uncertainty threatening a global slowdown. Seeking to improve UK-U.S. trade ties and secure a reduction on some U.S. tariffs, British finance minister Rachel Reeves is due to meet U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Washington. Reeves on Wednesday said that Britain would not lower standards in sectors such as food or autos in pursuit of a deal with the U.S. but it was open to seeking a reduction in trade barriers between the two sides. As an example of the tightrope facing Britain, the U.S. could demand greater market access for those food producers which are already relatively aligned with UK standards, but London would not want to grant anything that either damages its own farmers or the prospects of greater UK-EU alignment on food. Britain could also lower its tariffs on U.S. cars. In Washington, Reeves also met with European finance ministers and called for greater defence co-operation on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings. Britain is hoping to be able to access the EU's new 150 billion euro rearmament fund, both to enable its companies like BAE to win contracts and to potentially do joint defence projects with EU countries. Starmer said earlier this year that he hoped for closer ties in areas including improving military mobility and logistics, protection from sabotage, developing military technology and deepening industrial collaboration. As part of the improved relations with Brussels, European leaders are also likely to demand a deal to allow young Europeans to live and work in Britain, a policy that risks angering those voters who backed Brexit, in part over concerns about immigration. Some in Starmer's party also agree with that policy, and more than 60 Labour lawmakers wrote to the minister handling EU negotiations in a letter released on Thursday calling for a youth visa scheme for British and European citizens under 30. (Reporting by Alistair Smout and Andrew MacAskill; writing by Kate Holton; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
