Will the carriers want to be bottled up with extra RM, when they could use that extra capacity to improve crew efficiency, extra flight crew that the crash showed we needed, USMC, e.c.t?Repulse wrote: ↑30 Sep 2023, 10:09 Interesting update on the FSS design with relevance to this thread.
https://www.navylookout.com/refining-th ... ip-design/
So a CSG could carry @600 RMs/SFs without an additional amphib and without overloading:Adaptability
Besides the core requirement to provide solid stores to the aircraft carrier and supporting warships, the design is intended to be ‘adaptable’ for other roles and ‘sustainable’ to meet emissions reduction targets. The adaptability involves allocating space, weight and power provision to support these other capabilities such as a role 2 maritime hospital that could be installed in Fleet Time. Additional space has been added to the port side boat bay to allow the embarkation of large RIBs for special forces. There is also a dedicated planning and command space for SF and commando operations. FSS will also have some signals intelligence gathering capabilities and will have a SIGINT office. Besides the thousands of tonnes of stores that can be held in the main hold, up to 25 TEU containers can be carried on the upper deck to allow the rapid embarkation of disaster relief supplies as well as supporting future containerised capabilities/PODS such as an autonomous mine warfare system.
The large and almost square flight deck will accommodate helicopters up to Chinook size. The hangar has space for two Merlin-size helicopters plus at least one UAV. The RN would have preferred more hangar space but enlarging it further would have impacted on the size and cost of the vessel.
FSS will have a core RFA crew of 101 plus up to 57 augmentees all accommodated in comfortable single en-suite cabins. There is more austere sleeping accommodation for another 21 personnel if needed.
- 1 x CVF: 250 troops
- 1 x FSS: 57 troops
- 1 x Tide: 46 troops
- 2 x T45: 2 x 60 troops
- 2 x T26: 2 x 50 troops
- 1 x SSN: 10 troops
Likewise we won't want the aux filled up too much.
I doubt the escorts can fill up that much.