Fox confirms Trident spending debate

HAVE YOUR SAY

REACTIVATE LEND/LEASE??

Both the United States' Senate and House of Representatives Defence and budget-related committees are deliberating proposals to substantially downsize their country's navy and how budget reductions can be implemented in all of their armed forces branches...

This while the UK is struggling to find ways of financing major- but very needed- military acquisition programmes, particularly for the Royal Navy and ancillary services...

Could a productive strategy to perhaps partially meet both countries' objectives be the US 'gifting to the UK' several of its most recently built fighter aircraft & helicopter carrying naval vessels (along with their aircraft + weapons) that could be inducted into the RN in place of the UK's planned- but, due to budget constraints- enormously counterproductively lacking in capabilities- new 'big deck' aircraft carriers??

The UK could sell its 2 partially completed, impractically-designed 'big deck' aircraft carriers to reliable countries such as India, S. Korea or even Brazil; work with the buyer(s) to 'custom fit' these vessels with radars, communications, armaments, etc; and could commit future years' funding to a 're-design' of the botched-by-the-previous-Labour-govt' big deck' aircraft carrier programme...


COULD THE US LEND/LEASE TO THE UK


1) http://www.navy.mil/local/lhd8/ -

2) http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=4200&ct=4&tid=400 -

3) http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/navy/lhd-8.htm

4) http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/cvn-21/

5) http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/cvn-21/cvn-213.html

6) http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/cvn-21/cvn-214.html

7) http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/cvn-78-specs.htm

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THE UK'S DESIRED WORLD-PROFILE ALONG WITH ITs FORESEEN FUTURE ROLES & POTENTIAL DUTIES OUGHT TO BE PARAMOUNT IN THE UK's DEFENCE MEGA-PROJECT DECISION-MAKING!!!!

The UK's desired world-profile, roles & foreseen duties along with its required future Defence Industry and Defence-related technological capabilities (during the coming 3-4 decades) ought to underpin any and ALL discussions AND policy decisions regarding the Vanguard successor class submarine & Trident replacement programmes....

The same can be said for discussions and policy decisions regarding the future force structure & capabilities of the Royal Navy generally... IE: whether or not to commit funding for:

1a) the 'FULL' fitting out- with weapons, communications and defensive systems- of the 6 currently undergoing construction/sea trials Type-45 Destroyers- instead of continuing with the hugely dangerous, absurd previous Labour govt plans of commissioning these urgently required vessels into service as barely 20% equipped 'shells', IE: without 80% of the basic, industry-standard types of weapons, communications and defensive systems that their designers originally intended;

1b) the urgently needed 12-additional Type-45 Destroyers (12 on top of the 6 presently undergoing construction/sea trials);

2) properly designed* 'big deck' Aircraft Carriers;

* IE not continuing with the current Labour govt 'make work project for votes' programme...

This due to the planned, new 'big deck' carriers being designed- and now undergoing construction- without vital, industry-standard communications, weapons & defensive systems- and, highly dangerously without weapons guidance radars; aircraft-launch catapults and damage control systems equipment; and to make matters far worse- not nuclear powered...

Conventional, fossil-fuel powered propulsion enormously limits- if not outright prohibits- the UK's planned, new 'big deck' aircraft carriers' future upgradeability and capacity to operate next-generation anti airborne threat weapons such as 'Directed Energy Weapons' (DEWs)(DEWs are in late stages of development by several non-UK countries);

3) 10 Astute class submarines rather than the ludicrously inadequate 5 that the previous Labour govt committed funding for..

Despite times being tough- and balancing the country's annual budget deserving high importance- it could only benefit the United Kingdom's future political, economic and strategic interests if, as a result of the current Defence Review, that an unequivocally articulated 'statement' was made by the UK regarding what its intended future world roles & duties are and what UK military/crisis intervention capabilities can be counted on- by the broader world community- during the coming 3-4 decades...
Roderick V. Louis - Vancouver, BC, Canada

Liam Fox has scored an own goal here. He has allowed all the hippies and Guardian readers to re-open a debate that should have been closed down following the election, and as a result people who should know better are beginning to question the need for replacing Trident. He would have been better off keeping his mouth shut and letting the debate continue behind closed doors.
Jim - Bath

US/UK SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP: CONTINUED- & DEEPENNED- COOPERATION ON DEFENCE MEGA-PROJECTS HAS SUBSTANTIAL ECONOMIC & STRATEGIC BENEFITS FOR BOTH COUNTRIES:

For nearly 1/2 a decade, the United Kingdom has been working colaboratively with the United States to jointly develop components for both countries' new classes of ballistic missile submarines- intended to replace the UK's Vanguard class and the US's Ohio class Trident submarines...

Rather than continuing only developing interchangeable submarine/missile launcher components- with each country using these components in substantially architecturally different subs- the UK and the US ought to explore potential advantages of developing 'one' nuclear ballistic missile submarine design perhaps to be jointly built in both countries...

LINKS/BACKGROUND:

1) "(Common Missile Compartment) CMC Program to Define Future (nuclear ballistic missile submarine) SSBN Launchers for UK, USA", 29_06-2010:

http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/CMC-contract-to-Define-Future-SSBN-Launchers-for-UK-USA-05221/ -

"Jan 28/10: Backward compatibility. Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co. in Sunnyvale, CA received a $29.7 million sole source cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for systems engineering services, to help integrate current Trident D5 nuclear missiles into the new submarine's common missile compartment... Work is expected to be complete by... Sept 30/11..."

2) "SSGN "Tactical Trident" Subs: Special Forces and Super Strike", 13_06-2010:

http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/ssgn-tactical-trident-subs-special-forces-and-super-strike-01764/ -

"In the aftermath of the START-II arms control treaty, some of the USA's nuclear-powered Ohio Class SSBN nuclear missile submarines were converted to become long range conventional strike and special operations SSGN "Tactical Tridents." Four ultra-stealthy Ohio-class SSBNs had their 24 Trident II D-5 nuclear ballistic missiles removed.

"They were replaced with up to 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles, 66-102 special forces troops, special attachments for new Advanced SEAL Delivery System (ASDS) or older Seal Delivery Vehicle (SDV) "mini-subs," and a mission control center.

"In future, the SSGNs will also carry UUV underwater robotic vehicles and even UAVs for aerial operations.

"These modifications provide the USA with an impressive and impressively flexible set of conventional firepower, in a survivable and virtually undetectable platform that can remain on station for very long periods*.

"As surveillance-strike complexes make the near-shore more and more hazardous for conventional ships, and the potential dangers posed by small groups continue to rise, America's converted SSGN submarines will become more and more valuable.."

(*with the planned, new Vanguard class successor/Trident replacement submarines- why not the UK??)

3) "Northrop Grumman secures SSBN launcher contract", 18_06-2010:

http://www.janes.com/articles/Janes-Navy-International-2010/Northrop-Grumman-secures-SSBN-launcher-contract.html

4) "Future of the British Nuclear Deterrent: A Progress Report", 12_5-2010:

http://www.parliament.uk/briefingpapers/commons/lib/research/briefings/snia-05150.pdf
Roderick V. Louis - Vancouver, BC, Canada