Cherkasy, one of the Ukrainian Navy's two newly acquired ex-Royal Navy Sandown-class MCMVs, is pictured entering Portsmouth Harbour on 11 April ahead of a series of multinational naval exercises. (Crown copyright)

The Ukrainian Navy's two newly acquired ex-Royal Navy (RN) Sandown-class mine-countermeasures vessels (MCMVs) have been temporarily homeported at Portsmouth Naval Base, the RN has confirmed.

The two minehunters, Chernihiv (ex-HMS Grimsby ) and Cherkasy (ex-HMS Shoreham ), arrived at Portsmouth Naval Base on 11 April ahead of a series of multinational exercises.

Previously based in Scotland, the ships will operate from Portsmouth “for the foreseeable future”, the RN said. While stationed in Portsmouth, they will engage in exercises with the RN and the US Navy (USN) in UK waters, helping the Ukrainian Navy to adapt to NATO operations.

Chernihiv and Cherkasy, which were recommissioned into Ukrainian Navy service in July 2023, were donated by the UK to Ukraine as part of the Ukraine Naval Capabilities Enhancement Programme (UNCEP). Ahead of their transfer from the RN, they were overhauled by Babcock at its facilities in Rosyth, Scotland.

The V-Bat UAV, shown here during testing, is becoming the UAV of choice for US forces. (US Navy)

Military planners and operators are beginning to consider unmanned surface and aerial vehicles in a more operational light given recent successes in experiments and in the battlespace, according to defence analysts.

One case in point is the Long-Range Unmanned Surface Vessel (LRUSV) the US Marine Corps (USMC) plans to use as a semi-autonomous vessel for extended travel and transporting loitering munitions that accurately track and destroy targets on sea or land and serve as an intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) platform, according to Bryan Clark, senior fellow and director of the Center for Defense Concepts and Technology at Hudson Institute.

“Marines are looking at that for unmanned logistics,” Clark told Janes on 31 March in an interview in advance of the Navy League Sea-Air-Space global maritime exposition held from 8 to 10 April in National Harbor, Maryland.

“They want to move materiel between the islands for the MLRs [Marine Littoral Regiments],” Clark said.

A marine programs a counter-unmanned aircraft system on a Light Marine Air Defense Integrated System (LMADIS) during a predeployment training exercise at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, California. (US Marine Corps)

The Ultra Light Tactical Vehicle (ULTV) programme – a US Marine Corps (USMC) replacement for the ageing Utility Task Vehicle (UTV) – will now include a variant with more exportable power, according to Janes analysis of budget documents.

The fiscal year (FY) 2025 budget request is the first time the ULTV-High Power (ULTV-HP) has funding for procurement, adding up to roughly USD5.99 million for 40 vehicles in that year. USMC justification documents indicate that it “provides exportable electrical power generation in support of the requirements for [the] kill web integrating system”.