UK Defence Forum

They could probably be built at Cammell Lairds They could, but I feel like that's setting yourself up to fail. The MOD could create enough demand for 2 shipyards, but not three, so it's paying to start up production, then paying again to shut it down. Plus, remember CL didn't have the credentials t...

Its unlikely the Navy will gets its FSS within foreseeable future because there's no where to build it. Based on industrial capacity, the sensible thing is build these after the T31 build has complete, which pushes the date out towards 2030, which is a long time to wait. If the ships are still neede...

No need to put fuel stores in there, takes up too much room, and storing ammunition next to fuel is a bit of an arse.

Dahedd wrote:I think this disaster presents the Govt with a perfect opportunity to get 1 or 2 built

Very wishful thinking. In a years time people still wont case about shipbuilding, let alone a hospital ship.

Doesn't sound that bad. It still sound like a big stores ship, with a couple of fancy features to bolt on other tasks. A big vehicle deck is still able to hold stores for a carrier after all. It sounds possible to build a multi role vessel that doesn't compromise the replenishment capability too muc...

"save the day" on Rosyth, between 2028 to 2033, will be of very high priority. I can see no other big chance, at least for now. This is why the whole shipbuilding 'strategy' is fundamentally flawed. There is little market for complete frigates, the demand only comes from a couple of small...

If you're swapping the propulsion you may as well start from scratch. It's a massive change, and there is no benefit to it. Furthermore there it's a great benefit having a quiet destroyer, I can't imagine it would worth the engineering cost to redesign every mounting point only to save spending on a...

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EQb8hrqWsAAAncP?format=jpg&name=medium Very good shot! I thought the same when it appeared in my feed. I also thought how poor the superstructure design is, that's a big chunk of space just for a couple of RIHBs Compare it to a similar sized Spanish patrol vessel; ht...

I think, T4X shall better be new design hull. T26 got export means BAES's ship design team is not bad. If UK stop developing new hull, these expertise will disappear. A clean sheet design would be such a waste of money. No company would ever drop a perfectly good product because it didn't generate ...

Caribbean wrote:Babcocks own all the rights to the future development of the T31.

Where have you seen that please?

integrated masts Where are you getting an integrated mast from? Not a T31 feature is it? Weren't the French selling exports ships where the locals would build the hull and all the sophisticated bits would come nearly packaged and ready to 'plug n' play' from France. Can't remember which country (po...

SW1 wrote:https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-51451577

A couple of boats like these is the future of sub hunting in the North.

There's only one Bloke working on it, give him a chance!

That's exactly it, the area is so huge making Frigates few and far between. Plus I believable a sub will usually spot a frigate and just go around it, perhaps what your Estonian friend meant by having 'no warning'. I'll be very glad when the Brits get the P8 into service, even better with the second...

That's an unpopular opinion for sure.

I don't think there is any option that can watch over the North Atlantic besides a Maritime Patrol Aircraft, of which P8 is the best option available.

The only other alternative I can think is to fill the area with drones, but that solution doesn't exist today.

I just wish we had a clearer idea as to how the MoD intends to fill the Mk41s Is there any point bothering? It's ages until the first of class enters service, and will likely be the best part of a decade before they start expanding its role beyond ASW escort. I'll bet it 10 years before the Navy ar...

There will be no surprise attack then. True in parts, but remember a carrier can travel 40 miles between satellite revisits, a missile could travel thousands of miles in the same time, so I'd still put the advantage on the missile. And this is another reason why extra range is important, it gives t...

A Navy can't defend against that, a commander will have to act as though the enemy knows where they are all the time. That will force the carrier to operate from much further away from shore, requiring longer ranged aircraft.

(Also under water becomes much more important)

Global Hawk should be avoided, the UK is less interested in what's on the surface than Australia. The focus has to be on P8 plain and simple, then work with some commercial companies to watch the surface.

Just a fantasy, I agree, but how about adding the hangar on hull 4 and 5 of River B2? A light helo and hanger should have been there at the beginning, that would have been a real step up over its predecessor. Is there an 'easy' way to retrofit it? this is a camcopter operating from a B2 skip to 2,1...

Why not have a B-2 like highly stealthy plane, with an intercontinental range/ endurance as a hub and then robo-fighters (rather than 'wingmen') doing circuits around it, at a distance? I would be willing to bet that will happen in a couple of decades, and I feel its a bit too much of a jump to hap...

serge750 wrote:Maybe a smaller LHD like the mistral could be pushed past the bean counters

LHD's are dumb.

It's well accepted that aircraft carriers don't belong close to a hostile coast.
At the same time its well accepted landing craft don't work over the horizon.

Roders96 wrote:On a side note - are there any historic threads in this forum discussing what kind of capabilities would be required to counter Iran's speedboat flotilla?

Look at the Battle of Bubiyan. TLDR; get a Helicopter!

NickC wrote: new Fincantieri PPA

So much for 'beautiful Italian design'

Scimitar54 wrote:had enough frigates/destroyers

Meaningless statement until someone can quantify 'enough', and with the fleet sat in port 20% of the time it hard to claim there aren't 'enough'.