UK Defence Forum

As Repulse says, geographical spread explains a large part of the requirement for additional OPVs, as France has three OTs in the Indian Ocean and four in the Pacific vs our one in the Indian Ocean (Diego Garcia, so basically "looked after" by the US) and one in the Pacific (Pitcairn, admi...

The Armchair Soldier wrote:Is this confirmation the LEP will include anti-tank missiles?

Interesting wording, isn't it? It could just mean improved 120mm ammunition (likely), or even a gun-launched missile like Falarick (less likely). I think "put a missile down that barrel" rules out ATGMs, though

4 Mechanised Infantry on Boxer (eventually to be expanded to 8, for two Strike Brigades) Possibly I am wrong, but I think each Strike brigade is going to be made up of two cavalry and two infantry unit, so only 4 Mechanised infantry will be needed for the two brigades OK - thanks - that makes more ...

Thanks, good info. The Reserves seem to have been chronically under-equipped for years. Still trying to understand the numbers. Again, as I understand it (and talking in round figures): Army 2020 plans for (in Infantry terms) 4 x Armoured Infantry (Warrior 2 - currently six on Warrior) 4 x Mechanise...

Or perhaps they were thinking "the Brits are so strapped for cash, they are using BA as interceptors"

I thought that, of the 15 Light Role batallions, 6 were now Light Protected Mobility and 3 Heavy Protected Mobility, or are they counted as part of something else?

Yes, but if I was being negative I’d argue that T31 is just the reheated c2/c3 concept stemming from, what the early 90s? I would agree with that, though I'm not sure that that is a bad thing. Most other navies operate a similar structure of primary and secondary combattants, along with utility/ pa...

A great birdseye view photo. It also gives you a good idea of what could fit on a platform 50% longer and 50% wider (i.e. 90m x 15m), which seem to be a popular option for suggested replacements

Zero Gravitas wrote:After a very lengthy and troubled gestation, both T26 and T31 are progressing

I would have said that, by MOD standards, the T31 program was a model of alacrity. T26, not so much

Stirring the pot, I know, but couldn't resist

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/06/28/new-royal-yacht-britannia-would-serious-benefit-uk-says-new/

Very true and the the longer a programme takes the more changes are requested causing further delays and the cycle goes on and on. That is the part of the "industrial strategy" that is not often discussed, but is probably the most important. Grip. Initial capability: Specify once, build, ...

NickC wrote:If remember N-a-B who posts on SavetheRN and life time experience in industry think mentioned figure less than 10% saving after first three ships and thereafter not much movement.

IIRC NaB said approx 10% per build for the first 3 builds was "normal".

Also, Babcock guy never said T31 is capable of 11m boat. I seem to remember a Babcocks person saying something like "davits for up to 10m boats, but there is room for larger boats if required", or something like that. That's from memory, but I remember thinking at the time, that 11m was a...

I wouldn’t be buying the Aussie wingman If they recently transferred design data to the UK, it sounds as if we might be looking to do a similar deal to the one we did with them over the T26, which would indicate that we would plan to build the airframes locally, but with UK payloads (and possibly e...

Clearly you haven't read the whole thread (or have a poor memory, if you did). I have clearly laid out my ideas a number of times in the past. I'm also not sure whether it's worth engaging with you, since you seem to ignore what I actually write and attribute stuff to me that I didn't actually say. ...

Actually, no- it's an "I've already answered those points" response.

Just go back and read what I actually said - ignore whatever's going on inside your head. All the information is there

RichardIC wrote:So if you plan on reaching any disaster zone within seven days, and ships are to be pre-positioned accordingly "in multiple locations", then "global network" seems to describe that fairly well.

Where did I say any disaster zone?

RichardIC wrote:if you are planning a global network

Point to where I said "global network"

RichardIC wrote:which can reach anywhere

Ditto

Multiple, as in more than one (I just didn't want to repeat the same phrase in two consecutive phrases, it makes the phrasing sound awkward). There are a couple of proposals around at the moment, one a private proposal and the other proposed by elements within HMG, though as yet not taken up - neith...

the international rescue corps The International Rescue Corps? You are kidding, right? A capable and dedicated group, definitely, but a typical deployment is 8-10 people (the largest I've found was 15, but they may have had larger), specialising mainly in post-earthquake urban search and rescue. Th...

You wrote a single paragraph and I quoted it in its entirety. I did not focus on the reference to a Royal Yacht. Fair enough. Though my post was considerably longer than the last paragraph, I accept that the perceived emphasis was accidental, not intentional, and apologise for getting the wrong end...

The fact that, like so many, you focus on the inaccurate "it's a new Royal Yacht" part of the text (i.e. the small part of my much longer post that you explicitly quoted) and not the important part, that it wil provide extra capacity for HADR operations as well as promoting the UK "br...

Spinning two crap ideas together does not make a good idea. So not just a hospital ship and definitely not a new Royal Yacht! I think she's actually meaning that these new vessels could be as important for the UK's image abroad as Brittania was in her time. Interesting, whether it happens, of cours...

I think there are a number of prototype/ trials versions. I think it's just that the "final production" version hasn't been delivered yet. I would not be at all surprised if that was a "customer changing his mind" problem, as much as a "production issue" problem. Mind y...