Just read this, trying to suggest the rivers are good value is a very difficult sell. It seemed like a lot of bullshit, I struggled to continue reading after the suggestion of putting sea ceptor on there.
The new rivers are a disaster, they are platforms that the Royal Navy does not want or need, and only exist as make busy work until we finally build some proper ships.
All they are doing is sucking up resources from platforms that do have a credible wartime capability. We are already loosing three mine hunters to fund the new additions, and then the hundreds of millions of pounds that would be much better plugging one of the many holes within the armed forces.
What we have done is paid for a mini complex warship, to do tasks that don’t require a complex warship, for the sole purpose of sustaining a complex warship industry.
All those tasks you point out; Carrying containers, Launching patrol boats, Mine laying, UAV operations can all be done just as well from cheap non complex platforms. There is very little that can justify using a complex platform in these roles.
Putting Sea Ceptor missiles on this thing is such a horrible idea. The vessels have a 30mm cannon on the front, it is there for sinking criminals in canoes, not for going up against something with ASM. The rivers should never be in that position, so spending the money to defend against it is ridiculous. Firth more one the flight deck is filled with a proper radar and Sea Ceptor silos there is no room left for anything else. It will be a platform who’s only purpose is self defence, and it can self defend a lot better by staying in port.
The hangar and Merlin features are moot, because there will not be enough Merlin to start pointlessly equipping the river class with one, and if there was a small hangar there is still nothing to put in it.
There is very little that can justify the price of these, the only reason they exist is to sustain an industry for an important program. It is a terrible waste, draining yet more resources from a Royal Navy already at the tipping point.
If we want boats to be flexible and patrol, the same effect can be achieved much more efficiently using a simple commercial hull. An opportunity exist to do exactly that through through the MHC program in the late 20’s, which is a much better approach. The same capabilities, at a fraction of the cost.
Unfortunately the rivers are happening, so now we have to suck it up and make do.
The platforms are not well equipped to counter the ad-hoc and pop up maritime security threats they are best suited to. They are too slow, with a too small sphere of influence to have the coverage or response times necessary to counter general maritime security threats like piracy or smuggling.
We should try and change that by permanently equipping these new rivers with a Scan Eagle catapult at the front to increase the platform coverage. We can develop this capability capabilities with multiple units and swarm tactic to further increase the sphere of influence.
The next addition is some fast boats on that flight deck, initially as offshore raiding craft, but with the aim of developing capabilities to operate a full on fast combat boat like the CB90. Multiple units can be added to response at a more appropriate scale, speed and legality.
Through a mixture of UAV to increase data collection, and combat boats to increase speed of response, the sphere of influence for the new river class can be greatly enhanced. It will act as a mother ship for some off board distributed systems, our own budget LCS if you like.
They are certainly not going to have any wartime role however, maritime security is the limit. Station one in the Caribbean, Mediterranean, Falklands and the others wherever, and they can make a real contribution maritime security in the area.
That doesn’t justify the purchase, the same effect could be achieved much more efficiently from a simple hull, but unfortunately its already happening, and we now need to think how to make the most out of them.
I can't remember which thread I posted it on, but my general view of the RN doing EEZ work is that it's essentially a function of petty departmental empires that prevent the UK from having a proper, dedicated, civilian or paramilitary "Coast Guard" force.