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.

Red Sea operations have depleted inventories of USN missiles, such as SM-6s, being shown fired here. (US Navy)

After providing defence against recent Iranian missile and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attacks – as well as other attacks in or near the Red Sea – the US Navy (USN) needs funding to restock its weapons inventory, USN Secretary Carlos Del Toro testified on 16 April during a Senate Appropriations Committee (SAC) hearing on navy posture.

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.