Yes a number of people have been stating that about the tilt for sometime.Poiuytrewq wrote: ↑11 Jun 2023, 19:56Its an absolute no-brainer.wargame_insomniac wrote: ↑11 Jun 2023, 18:45 The reason I mentioned that Wave Knight would have been my ideal choice to operate EoS rather than a Tide, is because Wave Knight has sick bay and medical team, and I believe can carry more munitions, stores and dry goods than the Tide Casll. Thus I thought Wave Knight would be more suited to supporting smaller LRG(S) that would be deploying further afield.
RN cannot afford a major tilt EoS. The money and the hulls are currently not there.
What is there is the two waves, two RB2’s and whatever is involved in maintaining Kipion. If RN can’t maintain even that then the decline is worse than even the harshest critics thought possible. Blaming everything on the CSG simply doesn’t wash anymore. Where is CSG 2023? Where is CSG 2024?. It’s a nonsense.
The Waves would have given LRG(S) strength in depth and a persistent presence. They would have facilitated a group of Allied assets to operate in the region to maintain a presence that other smaller navies could have joined whenever practical. Instead we are going to see an occasional token force which will be tiny in scale and tiny in ambition.
What will selling the Waves actually save? Virtually nothing. They will be sold for the cost of two refits. Expect £50m to £70m. It’s laughable.
I would not rule out a commitment to increase the size of the Auxiliaries post 2035 in the Defence Command Paper but who believes the promises of jam tomorrow anymore. It’s clear the ambitions for enlargement are just lip service to camouflage the cuts.
Perhaps an easy win in the MoD was sought to balance the in-year budget but the implications of scrapping the Waves are much more pronounced than binning a couple of tired oilers. It showcases to the world that the UK isn’t serious, the two decade long cuts have been implemented and the decline is now permanent.
This is the wrong decision and other things could and should be cut before the Waves.
What would you cut instead of the waves?