Whenever QE is finally "finished" what should the Carrier Battle Group it forms the centre piece of consist of? At a minimum I believe it would need at least 2 T45, 4 T23/26 an SSN, plus of course RFA support. The problem is could the Navy find the necessary ships, or would it be a case of...

Interesting.
Cost and complexity are likely to be the biggest hurdles to overcome.
Now if it could change colour and its radar reflectivity as well!

was a superb platform even without new engines it still went further and faster than tornado.

Couldn't agree more. A new engine was only an option, new avionics was the only real requirement.

Jdam wrote:
Did we ever operate all 3 invincible's at the same time?

Only for a publicity photo: viewtopic.php?f=41&t=168

Not a Harrier or even a helicopter in sight!
All smoke and mirrors.

Finest naval bomber of its era, pity it wasn't appreciated more by the RAF. Could have been developed further, updated avionics and possible new engines then the RAF would not have needed to spend a fortune on MRCA, instead the money could have gone to develop a proper fighter. Then we wouldn't have...

Jackal & Coyote, the LRDG would have loved them!
While I think they have their place with Special Forces and light infantry I don't understand their use by Light Cavalry Regiments. As far as I can see they are a backwards step from CVR(T).

While commonality is always desirable, two artillery calibres is hardly extravagant. The 105 is ideal for rapid reaction forces, for both mobility and logistic reasons. While having a light weight 155 gun backing it up, for its range and terminal effect, would be desirable its cost in terms of purch...

Rolls-Royce has signed an €80m (£57m) contract with General Dynamics European Land Systems to deliver 589 MTU Series 199 diesel engines for new British Army Scout SV armoured vehicles. 589 Scout SV ordered, 589 engines ordered! No spares? None to train on? None being overhauled? Perhaps in the wond...

Too large, too heavy, not well enough armed. Can't see the point in taking a pretty standard IFV sticking on a new turret, weighing it down with loads of extra armour and filling it full of electronic gizmos. All of course at an exorbitant cost! What's the difference between it and an updated Warrio...

Have to agree about QE that bow not at all pleasing to the eye. Compare it to Victorious after its modernisation. Tribal looked wary, County's sleek and efficient until they fitted Exocet. I liked the Leander's compact and workmanlike, you just know that bow was meant for ploughing through the North...

shark bait There's nothing wrong with the Tailored Air Group concept. It seems a much more modern and flexible approach at a time when we really need a flexible approach to allow us to operate cheaply. Just because the Americans do it doesn't mean its the right way to do things. The TAG does seem a...

RetroSicotte But they're not lightly defended, they're defended by a full carrier group, the single greatest concentration of firepower in our military. Something the USN may be able to say not sure the RN can say the same, at least not until QE & POW are provided with proper Air Wings and not ...

I have missed a few posts so to go back to the Falkland's, Atlantic Conveyor was hit while it was with the Carrier Battle Group, so the Argentinian Super Etendards obviously got within range of the carriers. HMS Invincible did launch Sea Dart missiles though not at either the launch aircraft or miss...

ArmChairCivvy Of these, as a system of all three plus some AEW+CAP later on, only the CIWS needs to be on the carrier itself. I have to disagree. CIWS are very much a last ditch weapon. Even a successful engagement could lead to debris hitting the ship. Not good if you have a deck crowded with airc...

If I remember correctly Hermes and Invincible had about 5 days before they sailed, why would it have taken another 36 hours to remove any nukes on board? As for the springtrain ships while they were already at sea they could have transferred any onto the ships not immediately heading south. I just c...

In my opinion CR2 will be adequate, with some updates, until 2030, Baring the unexpected of course! This gives 15 years to produce a replacement. Due to the folly of successive governments allowing the demise of the UKs AFV production capability and the destruction of RARDE/MVEE/DRA if we were to do...

sharkbait In my opinion a GT running at an efficient speed would still generate far more power than could be used. Using a large battery pack would certainly help in evening out the power requirements but not sufficiently to over come the problem. I could be wrong of course, though I'd be surprised...

sharkbait "The best use of a turbine is driving a shaft at a near constant speed, such as a turbofan or generator. For use in a tank I couldn't recommend it for direct drive, but in and electric hybrid system it could be great. In such a system it would run at the same optimum speed all day lo...

RetroSicotte Well you really seem to have a downer on CR2 I wonder where you obtain your information as protection levels and gun penetration values are not widely advertised. To start with the L30 gun. The penetration figures I can find seem to me to be comparable with other high velocity tank guns...