UK 'has no frigates off Somali coast'

HAVE YOUR SAY

08 May 2012

The whole country should be horrified. It would be a national disaster if we ever lost one (or four) in a conflict. But what do you expect from a Government who'd rather spend billions on a duplicate railway line to Birmingham ? (which nobody will use). As a country we need to revisit our priorities.
DB - North Yorkshire

09 May 2012

There's a shocker NOT! If you reduce the number of platforms and not the number of commitments then there'll be problems. Something had to give! A Type-45 may be able to do the job of "5 T-42's" but it can only do it in one place at one time. What I'd give for a "modernised Leander Class" approx 2500-3000T, a good amount of them and with the tailored weapon fits similar (updated) to the Leanders of old!!
H Nelson - Portsmouth

09 May 2012

This government is juggling with sand. It took Labour's gradual defence cuts even further to a state where our country's assets are hugely exposed. Shall we reduce police bodyguards to one for the PM but give that bodyguard an arsenal of weapons in a bag? He'd soon realise how exposed this folly makes us all.
Michael - Hertfordshire

09 May 2012

Michael - Hertfordshire


I vote we 'retire' the special protection group and contract it out to Yusef Bloggs. When Royals and PM wonder why they don't have 24/7 protection Osborne can tell them it is to save money. It is what we are doing to all other services!
AW Employee - Yeovil

09 May 2012

AW Employee - agreed! This is the government which is saying it doesn't want to create the appearance of being a bunch of accountants... As with everything else, they've made a mess of that, presentationally, too. As it says on one of the ships in Chatham Dockyard: "Deeds Not Words".
Michael - Hertfordshire

09 May 2012

So what happens when only 10 Type 26s are ordered and the escort fleet drops to just 16 ships? And it WILL happen (unless of course, they decide that 9 is sufficient).
Murgatroyd - West Yorkshire

09 May 2012

Just to place this in context with other similarly sized (apparently) allies, the Marine National (French Navy) currently has the Re-Supply ship Marne, and two frigates (currently the Nivose and Guepratte) attached to the EU Navfor anti-piracy mission to the region.

We have whatever we can spare, which most of the time is nothing.

This just isn't good enough. We need hulls. If people say we cant man them then make them smaller, drop it to 2000 or 1500 tonnes. Build 10 River (Clyde-version) class, stick a few more cannons on and off you go. 1000 extra sailors maximum. Are you telling me we don't have 1000 people on the dole that wont want a job?

Do it.
Anon - Abroad

10 May 2012

Anon - Abroad

"Are you telling me we don't have 1000 people on the dole that wont want a job?"

Depends if there are 1000 who don't mind living and working in a space that would have the EUCHR slapping UK with breaches of human rights if criminals were made to live in prison cells with the same space!

The Navy calls it 'character building'! Personally, I found it very rewarding as you quickly found what was important in order to live in close confines with other people who initially are strangers.
AW Employee - Yeovil

11 May 2012

I really do think the Khareef class Corvette is worth a look. BAE made it for Oman at a cost of £400 million for 3 including support and training costs. Even changing it with our weapons should keep it at £150 million a pot and roughly £500 million for 3 vessels would be a good bargain.

I know the word "corvette" can cause some serious outcries however I do think that type of vessel is something we need to consider. Especially as more vessels means more caught pirates/terrorists/saved merchantmen/drugs captured. All that makes headlines. Headlines which are usually good, especially when it's done by a "cost effetive" vessel. That means the RN becomes more relevant than it is in the public eye. Means the government has a harder time hitting it with cuts!!
Anthony - United Kingdom

12 May 2012

AW Employee -

Very true. I can well imagine uou learn a whole lot about yourself when stuffed together in a can. The small breaks, chow time etc, carry added emphasis.

I think one of the biggest sticking points is the time that UK vessels are generally expected to stay out of port. Its around 10 days more than other developing navies, so the ships have to be bigger for increased mission endurance. A compromise has to be met I think.
Anon - Abroad