Article 22 16.1 requires ten days notice to the combatants of the use of a vessel as a hospital ship, 170.2 allows the ship and it does mention with the usage of misiles being deflected into the path of a hospital the allowance of purely deflective means of self defence ,Im not able to find a secti...

Extendable http://i.imgur.com/D6lwZid.gif Before http://www.naval.com.br/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/OPV-BAE.jpg After http://i.imgur.com/8eSoPqE.jpg Could we make the rivers more useful with a retractable hanger such as this? Extend the sides of the forward structure to create a hangar, it wor...

I think it is likely we will see something similar for the complex warship industry too. I hope we do see that. So far the ship building strategy has been scarce on the strategy. Complex warship building is a nationally important industry, if we want a strong navy we need a strong industry and a ro...

I was thinking along the lines of something of a similar size to a Canberra class with modifications allowing easy conversion when required to a large hospital facility/ship when needed , and had all of that classes capabilities after modifications changed again I don't think something like that co...

Ron5 wrote:Today's CIWS don't come with their own generators. No space. No money.

I know, that's why I saying the laser systems that do are a much more robust system.

IMO the tri-service TAG concept is the most exciting aspect of the entire programme. If the MoD pulls it off we could end up getting more flexibility with the QE carriers than the US do with the Nimitz class and their bigger, but largely uniform, air groups. Indeed it is an interesting concept, and...

Oh yeah, the UK has got a disproportionate amount of work. For ~4.5%* of the aircraft bought the UK contributes 15% of the value of the aircraft. It'd be interesting how the rear-fuselage situation would work if BAE lost worshare because (AFAIK) they're the only supplier so you couldn't just ramp u...

Since a CIWS is essentially the last line of defence, the more independent it is from the ship the better. Having its own generator is an advantage. If the platforms is stranded, and its main systems fried, a modular independent CIWS will be very valuable. I would very much expect the final product ...

Ron5, That's a very pessimistic outlook. I think that it is possible to have a general purpose frigate, that is still very credible, whilst being cheaper than the T26. It is very inefficient to build a complex warship, designed with 1000's of optimisations to make it the best ASW platform in the wor...

As for RN nuclear power, with the exception of SSN/SSBN it's too expensive and requires trained specialists that are very hard retain. That is indeed the only time it makes sense, and that's only because of the lack of oxygen. To make nuclear competitive with gas it needs to be running with a capac...

Would a purpose built hospital ship for the military have the usage to be justified ,a large dual use either civilian hospital for emergency response or troop transport at other times may be more effective ,a large vessel with landing craft and placement for appropriate numbers and types of helicop...

I'll try again, "A hospital ship is NOT a 'military' asset due to its protective status under the laws of armed conflict." OK I see what you mean. It may not officially be a military asset, but it is an asset that is of value to the military, as well as UK aid After evacuation to a hospit...

Ground based aster?

We are terrible at this.

Gabriele wrote:It might be an attempt to enter FCAS by any other name.

Perhaps it is.
It will likley need another strong economy to get the project off the ground any way. Seems like a long time to stretch tornado out.

Defiance wrote:BAE Comms can be about as clued up as regular journos.

Sucking up to your customers, putting a nice PR spin on the news. Standard stuff .

Who with? The F35 has effectively neutered the European fast jet industry. UK and Italy are committed to the F35. Spain doesn't have the resources but wants the F35. France seem content with Rafale and upgraded Mirage jets. The other smaller nations seem to be headding to F35 too. Sounds like they'r...

A hospital ship has no military benefits due to its protective status. RFA would be a waste of personnel on a hospital ship. I think wounded service men and women would disagree with that. If you read my suggestion, I am not proposing the RFA spend their limited and valuable resources on this, rath...

Also, just to inject a bit of perspective into this debate, the Royal Navy do not operate "light" or "second rate" ships for a very good reason: they saw first hand what happens when you try and actually fight a war with them Some great examples. I would also add the type 14 whi...

A hospital ship doesn't need to be operated by the RFA. ........ However, I doubt DFID has the spare liquidity to fund a pedalo with a spare field dressing. Quite right, it doesn't have to be part of the RFA, that is just one option. The DFID is not in the business of operating ships. The RFA is in...

More seriously, what would we do if we were to procure hospital ships for DfID? Would we build them from scratch or convert tankers? It appears that there's quite a lot of tankers lying idle at the minute, so maybe we could pick a couple up relatively cheaply and convert them. Lots of options, and ...

Especially soft power projection of hospital ships is great. It should NOT be operated by the RN. It should be operated by the RFA and funded by DfID. Indeed it is, we continually here the UK is a big soft power player, a hospital ship would be a great way to reinforce this. My suggestion is very m...

As I set out in the article I think the flexible carrier concept the UK is developing is coming along quite nicely. A good read. It's nice to see STOVL and TAG's being painted in a good light for a change. It think both can deliver the flexibility and the affordability we need right now, and I thin...

To be honest I'd be quite happy to go with the Mk54, at least as an interim measure. That would be more than acceptable, the focus needs to be on a quick and affordable entry into service. I would like to think that integrating sting ray shouldn't be too difficult. The MK54 is getting an add-on win...

A recent discussion made me think, is it time for the Royal Navy to have a real hospital ship? I think the military, foreign aid and political benefits of a hospital ship are well recognised and as such is probably be something we try and pursue. http://www.ebeijing.gov.cn/BeijingInformation/Beijing...

Tilt rotors are not supposed to hover so good so that might be an issue. That was very much my thinking, the next thing is, could it be used like a low altitude fixed wing MPA? And would that offer anything more than our current arrangement? Having a refueling option sounds good for the F35 b exten...