Just to follow up my last post, I've spotted what seems to be a pretty thorough meta-analysis of age-related IFR reports (mostly from Europe and the US) that is available online at: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.07.23.20160895v3.full.pdf Basic take-home is: ' Our analysis indicates th...

Given the EU’s negotiating position what do you think the UK should do from here to inject an element of reality? Just forget about fish - in the bigger scheme of things fishing is not important. (Or, more pragmatically, be prepared to offer up fishing in return for some other strategically more im...

The point is that it will cease to apply thereafter, at which point the EU fleet is legally entitled to 0% of fish in our waters. I wouldn't be so sure. You seem to be overlooking (amongst other things) that 'historical rights' that have long applied to fishing disputes and which are totally separa...

Personally I think a no deal now probably the best approach then sort stuff out in the next few years or carry on wto if everyone happy You're obviously welcome to your opinion, as is everyone of course. My view FWIW is that the UK is totally idiotic ever to think that it can survive on its own and...

I'm I right in thinking could be wrong but 80% economy is internal and 20% trade and out of that 43% is trade with eu ,so 92% of UK economy is made up of internal and trade with the rest of the world ,am I correct in this thinking/numbers? I think it's more like 70/30 than 80/20 (or to be accurate ...

Anyone seen anything decent and substantive on what the infection mortality rate is yet? Haven't seen much recently. Probably between 0.1% and 1% overall. But it's a complex subject: 1. IFR (infection fatality rate) and therefore CFR (case FR, but crucially different from IFR) is highly dependent o...

could someone explain to me the sort of scenario in which these tanks might conceivably be used in future conflicts? Any scenario where you need protected, mobile, firepower. OK, but give me a credible example please. I'm just struggling totally to imagine how the something the size and weight of s...

I confess to knowing very little about Army structures and strategies. But could someone explain to me the sort of scenario in which these tanks might conceivably be used in future conflicts? I'm just struggling totally to imagine how the something the size and weight of say 100 of these machines ca...

Night flying warning from RAF base

https://www.northnorfolknews.co.uk/news ... -1-6804343

The P8 facility has been handed over.... But I can't help getting a feeling of 'eggs all in 1 basket'... Want to cripple the entire UK MPA fleet....just got to hit 1 building...we seem to have totally forgotten a lot of the lessons from the Cold War about hardening and dispersal. No doubt cost come...

[Not strictly RAF news I know - feel free to move if there's somewhere more appropriate]

Looks like Mildenhall will be remaining open post 2027 according to our local press:

https://www.elystandard.co.uk/news/busi ... -1-6775748

Not honestly sure where this is usefully leading. Yes, if the average voter placed a higher priority on defence then it would get more attention, but that's only going to change in one of 3 ways: 1. Mainstream media attention (not used in any pejorative sense!) 2. Social media of all flavours 3. Eve...

Correct, which is entirely my point. If the voters become more interested in defence and security than so will the politicians, until then... OK, fair enough. But in that case, how do you suggest one tries to convince a more substantial chunk of the electorate? Or is your point actually that trying...

The voting public, they are the ones that need to be convinced. But only 8% of UK voters at the last election thought that 'Defence & security' ranks amongst the top 3 issues facing the country. And of those 8% I dare some took security to mean against UK-based terrorism. It's just not a high-p...

Since there's a CM for an ex 2*, how about a cut in CEA? Or scrapped completely? Cost per year is something like £180m. That's fine, but it's nothing like on the scale we need to be thinking about, which is saving/cutting (in round numbers) something like £10-15B, probably more, over the next 10 ye...

What is needed is a process where a Review is driven by know threats and Government policy, and the results are funded fully, not relying on slight of hand or "Efficiencies", and that this is legally binding until the next five yearly review. Don't disagree with that at all and it's far a...

what i'm wondering is whether the covid-related decrease in GDP this year and next will be a silent hit to the Defence budget, or, whether the 0.5% above inflation increase year on year is specified in cash terms - and would thus shield defence from the silent cut of a total GDP cut...? Beyond bein...

I know there's a lot of defence experience and expertise here (and much more opinion too). I see so many posts bemoaning the lack of spend on this project and on that service, but without much constructive suggestion about what ought to be done. Does anyone have any sane proposals for what they woul...

Actually neither way is right or wrong. But what happens in practice is that large pharma companies are forever selling their OTC arms to one another - it's just a merry-go-round over the years. I believe that the point that you miss in this is that any strategy or plan, is almost always better tha...

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? But is there anything wrong or surprising about that? It's often the case in big, long-term enterprises that a strong case can be made for different strategic approaches. Typica...

https://www.defenceonline.co.uk/2020/07/02/government-rd-uk-science-superpower/ This sort of thing 'New plans to cement the UK as the world’s leading research and science superpower' is just so much cr*p though - it's utterly dispiriting to read. The UK never has been and never will be 'the world’s...

Last year Marshalls mentioned it intended it was going to move elsewhere and sell its land at Cambridge for Housing. Have not heard anything since about that move but it may have something to do with the cancellation. Living (relatively) locally this is a topic that's regularly in the local press. ...

bobp wrote:We are supposed to be getting 17 F35b by the end of 2023.

Latest I'd seen was 17 more by the end of 2022 - see:

https://des.mod.uk/f-35-fleet-17-jet-order/

But that announcement is 18 months old now - has there been a more recent update?

Isn't this all rather academic now? There's going to be precious little money left for anything by the end of this year. Probably best to postpone the SDSR review for at least a year or two until the damage inflicted by COVID on the nation's finances starts to become a little clearer. No use pretend...

A mere 1.5% of the cost of a railway line so you can get to Manchester 15 minutes quicker to satisfy all those tens of people that say they just have to get to Manchester 15 minutes quicker. You probably knew this already but, for the record, speed is not the main justification for HS2. The central...