'Complex' helicopter landing system installed on HMS Forth as Royal Navy ship bolstered with vital upgrades
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It’s hoped the improvements will be rolled out across all the Batch 2 River-class ships
Essential upgrades have been made to a Royal Navy ship in hopes they’ll be rolled out across more vessels.
HMS Forth has been equipped with an advanced Helicopter Deck Lighting System so aircraft can better operate at night. The Glamox Helicopter Visual Landing Aid System (HVLAS) makes it easier for small aircraft to take off from the River-class ship and return in difficult conditions.
Gosport-based firm UK Docks carried out the installation at its Teesside dock alongside Glamox and Du Pre Marine, with the project being delivered ahead of schedule and under budget. The businesses previously teamed up to upgrade two other Batch 2 offshore patrol vessels, HMS Spey and HMS Trent.
Operations director Stephen Lee said: “Completing the HVLAS installation on HMS Forth ahead of schedule is a direct result of the experience we carried forward from HMS Trent and HMS Spey. In 2024, our team built the case for the project and brought du Pré Marine in as the installation partner.
“We hold the contract, and this installation was particularly satisfying because our Teesside facility provided the base of operations, while Glamox and du Pré Marine brought the technology and the engineering skill to execute. Completing this complex project ahead of schedule demonstrates what this facility and our team can deliver in support of the Ministry of Defence and Royal Navy."
The aim of the new landing system is to help personnel operate with greater flexibility, control and mission agility. The HVLAS rollout was agreed in an effort to improve the ships’ aviation capability.
UK Docks is tasked with servicing the maintaining the five Batch 2 ships, as part of a £250m contract which runs until 2031. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) approved the project under the Change Impact Assessment Process. It was first executed on HMS Trent and is now being extended across the remaining fleet.
Glamox supplied the HVLAS, with du Pré Marine's engineering team providing a turnkey solution, including installation and commissioning. HMS Forth will soon undergo acceptance at sea trials to test the new system, which will include day and night helicopter landings.
The Glamox HVLAS is a complete flight-deck LED lighting system provides pilots with visual cues and information during approach and landing. It includes a stabilised horizon bar that indicates the horizon's position regardless of the vessel's roll and pitch, a three-colour glide path indicator showing whether an aircraft is on the correct approach path, deck-edge lighting, and focused LED beam lines providing precise positional cues for pilots in low-visibility conditions or using night vision goggles.
Its variable controls mean it can be used for covert operations. Toby du Pré, managing director of du Pré Marine, said: "The installation on HMS Forth was completed by our team within eight weeks.
“What this programme demonstrates is what a focused three-way partnership can achieve. Glamox supplies the technology, a certified, military-grade system with a 30-year design life; our engineers carry out the physical installation, commissioning and set-to-work on board; and UK Docks provides the contract structure, the facility, and the operational coordination that makes it all run.
“Without the UK Docks Teesside yard as the base of operations and UK Docks' relationship with Defence Equipment & Support and the Royal Navy, this installation would not have happened the way it did. From initial concept to installation across three vessels took approximately 14 months, and that pace is down to how well the three organisations have worked together.”
Lou Lewis, UK business development manager for Defence and Security at Glamox, added: "HMS Forth completing this installation at the UK Docks Teesside yard is a significant step in the rollout across the Batch 2 fleet. The partnership between Glamox, du Pré Marine and UK Docks is what makes this programme work in practice.
“Glamox provides the system but it is du Pré Marine's engineering expertise and UK Docks' contract leadership and shore-side infrastructure that turns a product into an operational capability. We are now three vessels into the B2 Class rollout, and the model is working."