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| Britain |
| Royal Navy to be cut |
| 2004-07-19 |
| A THIRD of the Royal Navy's ageing fleet will be axed under sweeping changes to be unveiled on Wednesday. Three of the Navy's oldest destroyers and two frigates will be scrapped, along with two minehunters and two nuclear subs. Defence secretary Geoff Hoon needs to slash MoD spending — and the outdated vessels earmarked for cuts have become a costly extravagance. They will be replaced with two supercarriers and the most up-to-date fighting systems. A leading defence official said last night: "We aren't fighting big sea battles any more. What we need is to be at the cutting edge and a lot of these ships no longer have any value." The cuts follow Gordon Brown's recent Government spending review. |
| Posted by:Bulldog |
| #7 I second Steve's concern about the French building the new carriers for the Royal Navy. Perhaps something could be worked out to build them here in the U.S.... |
| Posted by: DanM 2004-07-19 8:23:24 PM |
| #6 Howard, to jusge whether Hoon and his Ministry has made a good decision, look to see whether the ships that are being decommissioned are compatible with carrier ops. Today, the surface ships that comprise a carrier battle need to be dead quiet, link capable, fast, not too thirsty... Tin cans tend to become obsolete due to age and change of mission. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-07-19 4:52:06 PM |
| #5 The Ark Royale |
| Posted by: Howard UK 2004-07-19 4:38:24 PM |
| #4 With all due respect to Howard (#1), the planned carriers should be pretty impressive. They will displace about 41,000 tons and will carry about 40 Joint Strike Fighters, which will make them about half the size of a Nimitz-class carrier and allow them to carry about half as many jets. Compared to the UK's current carriers, that will be a massive improvement. (HMS Ark Royal displaces about 18,000 tons and carries 8 Harriers.) I have been concerned about reports that the UK has decided to partner with France on these carriers, however. It isn't clear what that may mean, but one report was that they'd be built in French shipyards. Given that the French Carrier De Gaulle had one of its propellers fall off when at sea one time, that doesn't bode well. |
| Posted by: Steven Den Beste 2004-07-19 4:23:14 PM |
| #3 This is a recipe for disaster. Build two new "supercarriers" and reduce your ASW and other defensive capabilities and you will always be afraid to deploy your fleet against a third tier navy. |
| Posted by: Formerly Dan 2004-07-19 1:19:20 PM |
| #2 Howard - I hope you sell/donate the minesweepers to Spain or some other 2nd teamers. Lack of minesweeping can be pretty hazardous to the economy of martiine nations. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-07-19 12:09:53 PM |
| #1 They will be replaced with two supercarriers and the most up-to-date fighting systems. ie. Two rubber dinghys and an air-rifle. |
| Posted by: Howard UK 2004-07-19 5:14:22 AM |