Auxiliary Ships Evolve to Meet Current Requirements

摘要

An auxiliary is a naval ship which is designed to operate in any number of roles supporting combatant ships and other naval operations. Auxiliaries are not primary combatants, although they may have some limited combat capacity, usually of a self-defence nature. In the past various auxiliaries were designed for specific roles like oiler, bulk carrier, replenishment at sea (RAS) and even as hospital ships. However, shrinking budgets meant that only the biggest navies like those of the US Navy and Royal Navy could afford role specific auxiliaries.