dmereifield wrote:I think the RN intends them to be a bit more fighty than the glorified OPV that some on here seem to suggest they'll be. The comments would also indicate they the RN will use them as such, too
Not withstanding
KiwiMuzz's valid cynicism, assuming the funds are there and do not result in higher priority cuts elsewhere then I would support a larger warfighting escort force.
However, adding MK41s by themselves do not make them the required standard, unless done properly it just makes them a bigger target. The biggest weakness remains below the water - until a real hull sonar (and possibly TAS) and ASW countermeasures are included then it would be criminal to put them in harms way against a peer (or even near peer) nation.
Also, the 1st Sea Lord also commented on the usefulness of the mission bay on the (Global Combat Ship) T26. I still cannot help but believe that the T31/T32 would be best focused replacing the T26 in the CSG Escort and TAPS role, giving them a freehand to be deployed as the operational situation dictates.