00:00So, Lou, we've just seen the contingent of Ukrainian sailors
00:26for Portsmouth Naval Base. What did you think about greeting them for their first visit to Portsmouth?
00:31So, I think it's amazing that we have two new platforms coming into Portsmouth Naval Base,
00:37of which obviously we've already welcomed two of their sister ships already into Portsmouth Naval Base.
00:43But certainly the two crews today, and that's where I focus from the Portsmouth Naval Base end,
00:48the crews and their ships coming safely alongside and being able to see what is available in Portsmouth,
00:54but more importantly how we'll be able to support them in obviously their mission,
00:59and obviously at times, when they can have some downtime, the actual local area.
01:03I was going to say, Portsmouth Naval Base is no stranger to having international guests on all the time,
01:07but what makes this visit stand out from those?
01:10So, I think it's actually for this, it's the crews themselves.
01:14For some, they've never actually been, they haven't spent long in the United Kingdom,
01:18and they've spent a long time at sea in a lot of kind of training conditions.
01:23And that's it now to be able to come safely alongside and start operating as we would treat visiting ships
01:29and our own Royal Navy ships, I think is going to make a real difference to them.
01:33So, what sort of role does the base play in welcoming international naval forces such as this one?
01:38What are the sort of things that the personnel do on a day-to-day basis to help the guests?
01:43So, I think more importantly, we're here to provide a safe and secure naval base,
01:49so that actually when sailors and ships are alongside,
01:52their services and their support actually can be done on their behalf.
01:56Because as we said, at sea, it's inherently dangerous, and more importantly, it can be quite arduous.
02:01So, when they too come to Portsmouth Naval Base, we can provide that support to them,
02:05and more importantly, be able to kind of give them what we have seen in our own sailors,
02:11be able to enjoy A, in the naval base, and B, further afield.
02:15So, you spoke to the mine hunting teams just now.
02:17What do you think of the dedication that they have for serving their country?
02:21I think in all times of warfare, and certainly in the Royal Navy, as I've said,
02:25it's inherently dangerous.
02:27But more importantly, to see the skills and expertise that the Ukrainian Navy has actually been able to apply,
02:33and to the crews that are in these two ships, it's pretty phenomenal.
02:37And certainly being able to conduct the training that we do in the Royal Navy,
02:41and of which is world-leading, and then to be able to come here safely,
02:45is just testament to those individuals.
02:47Do you think the training offered here at Portsmouth Naval Base is state-of-the-art, and it stands out in the force?
02:52It absolutely is, and I think that's really important, that we need to make sure it's clear,
02:56that we actually have the United Kingdom and Royal Navy staff alongside these sailors,
03:02to make sure that they're fully equipped to actually undertake whatever operations they will do in the future.
03:07And finally, obviously, a lot of upgrades are going to be made to this naval base in the future,
03:11that was set out in stone by the government earlier.
03:13What do you think of those that plan of upgrades to Ports of Naval Base,
03:17and what do you think, will it be able to let the personnel do stuff that they wouldn't have been able to do before otherwise?
03:22So I think it's a really bright opportunity, and what we've had, that commitment from both government and ministers,
03:27is exactly where we need to be, and the naval base commander is absolutely clear in terms of regenerating,
03:33and making sure that this naval base is state-of-the-art, and is able to sustain another hundred years,
03:38as we've done for hundreds of years gone by.
03:40What do you think of the personnel, what do they think of the upgrades that are due to be made at the naval base?
03:44I think they're looking forward to that, and what they will see slowly, they will see disruptions,
03:48but actually what we will see, is as new becomes, and brought online, and the capabilities will increase,
03:54that is what makes a difference.
03:56So Alice, you've just welcomed the two Ukrainian ships alongside the naval base just earlier.
04:02What do you think of the visit, and what was it like to meet the personnel on board?
04:06Well, it's a fantastic achievement for the crews to finally get here to Portsmouth Dockyard.
04:12We have been working with them since they took over the hulls, three to six months ago,
04:18and it's been a generation pipeline for them to become safe to operate,
04:23and they have now completed exercise sea breeze recently here in the UK, in Portland,
04:28and have now made it to the UK, so it's been a busy six months.
04:32It's great to welcome them here, and I look forward to continuing their training over the coming months.
04:37So what sort of training will the Royal Navy provide the UK personnel on a day to day while they're in Portsmouth?
04:42So our mission is to have all the Ukrainian ships that come to the UK leave us as a fully NATO interoperable platform.
04:51So our role is to facilitate their training in mine countermeasures and ship operations until such time as the NATO can certify them as fully interoperable.
05:03So obviously with these two ships, they're going to join obviously the former HMS Shoreham and Grimsby as part of a mine hunting course.
05:10What do you think that has set up for Ukraine with all these four ships ready to go after the comfort ends to the mines and the Bosphorus?
05:18I think the Ukrainian Navy will be incredibly well placed for its economic recovery and its increase of its own national security post-conflict.
05:28Through the task group that we are creating here for mine countermeasures,
05:32as well as all of the other coalition efforts that are taking place around the world and through the Maritime Capability Coalition,
05:39the Ukrainian Navy is well set for its future all the way out to 2035.
05:44And how will this also benefit the Royal Navy personnel on the team?
05:48Because obviously you're training these guys in all the things that you know already.
05:51Is there any other learning that you guys can take?
05:54Absolutely, all of this training is very much a two-way street.
05:57The Ukrainian Navy are currently involved in an active conflict, live MCM operations with unmanned vehicles in incredibly adverse conditions.
06:07So as much as we are imparting NATO doctrine and the skills to use these new platforms,
06:14they are also teaching us in modern warfare and they are going to be the leading practitioners in that moving forward.
06:21And how do you think things are going to change in the future for the Royal Navy personnel being involved in mine finance?
06:26Obviously you guys are going to bring in a lot of autonomous kits soon.
06:29What sort of things, what sort of adaptations are you guys going to have to make in the future?
06:33Well, autonomy is the next generation of MCM capability and as such we will have to evolve to meet the capabilities that it gives us.
06:42It will provide us greater freedoms and probably impose a few new constraints.
06:47And we will just have to learn how to maintain our high operational cutting edge within those capabilities and limitations imposed by the new technologies.
06:55And do you think having that autonomous technology alongside traditional platforms, do you think that gives you guys an extra boost?
07:02Absolutely. The mix of autonomous and traditional, if we wish to call it that, systems at the minute is working incredibly well.
07:10The legacy platforms allow us to have a level of assurance while we test and adjust with the new capabilities
07:19and bring them up to the standards that we hope to achieve.
07:22So what sorts of drills are the Royal Navy going to give to your friend and sailors on a day to day?
07:27What sort of new skills are they going to learn?
07:29So while they are with us, we will use our organic training here in the UK to do everything from firefighting to damage control
07:37into intership manoeuvres like replenishment and towing and then into their more core specialist mine countermeasures role
07:44where we will look at a full gambit of both clearing the seabed and of course protecting themselves and the other vessels of the task group while they do it.
07:53And finally, what do you think of Portsmouth as almost like a hosting site for Australia?
07:58Well, Portsmouth is the home of the Royal Navy and I couldn't think of a better establishment for which to host our key partner.
08:06And it's a strong statement of the UK's commitment to training Ukraine and to being a partner of choice for the Ukrainian armed forces
08:16and for Ukraine as a country, as aligned with the UK government and our 100-year agreement with Ukraine.
08:23So, Alexei, you guys have visited Portsmouth for the first time. What do you think of the naval base and the welcome that you guys were given?
08:31Yeah, I think for the naval base is also like great opportunity to have like to meet Ukrainian crews, Ukrainian ships here.
08:39Now they have like small family and especially these two girls, I would say, they were born by Maritime Capability Coalition,
08:48which actually we are together with UK, Ukraine, UK and other nations like UK-Norway leads this coalition.
08:59And this for Ukrainian crews is also great opportunity to be part of this capability, MCM capability, which is really important for the Black Sea,
09:09for the future MCM operations in the Black Sea.
09:13And what do you think of the training that you guys already given here by the Royal Navy? Do you think it will improve your skills, do you think?
09:20Of course, the training that we received together with our UK partners and under their leadership is absolutely unique for us.
09:33Because actually for the first two crews and for the first two ships, Chernigov and Cherkasy, actually this is the first ship which from Ukrainian Navy,
09:43which started entirely from the NATO standard training.
09:48So they haven't actually, the crews haven't seen like any other training before, so they just started from the NATO standard training.
09:55And as our like willing Ukraine just to join the NATO and for us is a unique opportunity and we are absolutely grateful to UK side for this opportunity,
10:06for this leadership to train the ships to be their full capable MCM capability with not just ship and crews but also with the staff, MCM staff, battle staff.
10:21And that is like this unique opportunity for us.
10:24And finally, will the personnel be prepared through this training for anything that comes up, future conflicts, mind clearance?
10:31Will they be better than they are now, do you think?
10:34Yeah, of course, they are now suffering only from, you know, they all like used to be in the tough conditions before,
10:41so now kind of like they need to adopt for the like more or less safety, like no, it's like a really safety condition to live and to work now.
10:49But, of course, they are, they, believe me, they saw bad things.
10:54And now for them, Sam, I think that is good opportunity for them just maybe to distract a bit, to concentrate on their efforts,
11:02on the some like important thing, which is training, which is future capability.
11:05And I think this should be there like all entrenched for now, because every unit now have his own role.
11:12And this is the very important role for the like, like, like for the big future, but still very important for the Black Sea to provide this,
11:23the international food security, to provide this like navigation, safety of navigation in the Black Sea.
11:28And this is very important for the, not just for Ukraine and Black Sea, but for the world worldwide as well.
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