Tom Sharpe

Tom Sharpe OBE served for 27 years as a Royal Navy officer, commanding four different warships

It’s happened again. We got rid of warships and then wished we hadn’t

It keeps happening. Decommission warships, and straight away you need them back

Tom Sharpe 9 Dec 2024, 5:01am

Putin retreats again

Russian navy’s complete departure from Tartus doesn’t seem like a normal exercise

Tom Sharpe 4 Dec 2024, 1:00pm
A Chinese ship is in the frame for the latest seabed cable breaks. Here’s what I think

Tom Sharpe 29 Nov 2024, 1:39pm
We’ve eviscerated a vital Navy capability for savings smaller than a rounding error

This was not ‘sensible decisions’, it was learned helplessness

Tom Sharpe 24 Nov 2024, 2:13pm

Scrapping our aircraft carriers would be a costly mistake

The ships are good value and strategically vital. Wargames alone are not a justification for their retirement

Tom Sharpe 18 Nov 2024, 4:15pm
The US and Royal navies are manoeuvring against Russian spy platforms deep beneath the Irish Sea

The war against Putin is not ‘over there’, it’s right on our doorstep

Tom Sharpe 15 Nov 2024, 1:58pm
We Brits must stop freeloading on US defence spending and fix the Royal Navy

Tom Sharpe 11 Nov 2024, 2:01pm
The US Navy is about to learn the same bitter lesson as the Royal Navy

Extending ships beyond design life is not a sign that things are going well

Tom Sharpe 3 Nov 2024, 1:26pm
When a nation’s warships avoid the Red Sea because of the Houthis, that nation looks bad

They’ve got the ships and got the men. They didn’t have the money to arm them too

Tom Sharpe 31 Oct 2024, 3:52pm
The silent war against Putin’s submarines just took a turn for the better

The more the merrier when it comes to hunting elusive Russians

Tom Sharpe 29 Oct 2024, 5:28am

Tonight is Trafalgar Night. How would Nelson fight the naval battle in the Red Sea today?

He wouldn’t be shy about shooting back when shot at

Tom Sharpe 21 Oct 2024, 2:31pm
I was a warship captain and missile specialist. Here’s how we should arm the Navy

Drones haven’t really changed the world of warfare that much

Tom Sharpe 17 Oct 2024, 5:08am
One radar error, and a routine Russian war crime becomes the first shot of a nuclear war

Random missile shots against Black Sea grain vessels run a serious risk

Tom Sharpe 11 Oct 2024, 4:35pm
I was captain of a ship much like the New Zealand one that just sank. Mine almost sank too

We should wait until we know the facts before judging the captain

Tom Sharpe 8 Oct 2024, 5:27am
How the US Navy’s space weapons helped to defend Israel against Iran’s ballistic missiles

It’s better to have friends than be strong

Tom Sharpe 2 Oct 2024, 1:23pm
Putin’s latest war crimes risk all-out war with Nato

Is this really the time to be shutting down one of the best minehunter forces in the world?

Tom Sharpe 30 Sep 2024, 4:38pm
A ship exploding with the power of a nuke sounds far-fetched. But it could happen

In fact it’s surprising just how large the scope for maritime disasters is

Tom Sharpe 27 Sep 2024, 3:10pm
The striking public sector workers who genuinely deserve a pay rise

Their problem is, nobody has noticed they’re on strike. But they are

Tom Sharpe 26 Sep 2024, 5:07am
Operation Gloves Off: How the US Navy can defeat the Houthis and re-open the Red Sea trade route

At the moment, what we’re doing is technically known as ‘losing’

Tom Sharpe 21 Sep 2024, 12:53pm
A grain ship is hit in the Black Sea. A US sub is spotted 5,000 miles away. Coincidence?

Not just the usual game of underwater chess this time, perhaps

Tom Sharpe 18 Sep 2024, 5:02am
The US Navy is back fighting the forgotten war in the ‘Gate of Tears’

All that stuff under the Christmas tree mostly came by ship, you know

Tom Sharpe 12 Sep 2024, 5:03am
This time the US Navy has moved to confront the puppet master, not the puppets

Meanwhile an abandoned tanker burns in the Red Sea, threatening environmental disaster

Tom Sharpe 3 Sep 2024, 4:35pm