Didn't MEAN to be a "thread killer"!!!!!

Could this be because in planning and finance stage there will not be a Britain as such because in 15/20 years time we will all be in a "super" Europe, lets speculate
Britain does the submarines
french do the ships
Germans do the tanks
Spanish do the airplanes
etc, just my 2 euros worth

the bulk of the cost for the new carriers is the $150 million per copy of the JSF - and thats todays prices not IF the contracts are signed


cutting 138 down to 50 , can see that getting cut further as the `phoon gets bombed up

Seems like a decent idea at last. Lets face it, the JSF program is an overhyped and out of control mess and the only direction unit costs are going is up. Without a doubt, this is the reason the 2nd carrier is getting canned. The £600m saving on replacing the HMS Ocean is also a big bonus.
A large assault carrier would be a positive asset in most of the conflicts currently being fought around the world. A large helicopter capacity, room for a UAV wing, marines, supplies, medics etc. Just the kind of thing thats needed in a prolonged ground war against a lesser power. The giant carriers are all well and good, but lets be honest, against a major power they're cannon fodder; simply too big a prize to ignore for an decent enemy. Against minor powers, the large air wings are needed to do the initial pounding and then become increasingly superfluous.
I reckon this is decent news for all except reasons of prestige.

It so annoys me, that the Government rescues the fraudsters in the financial sector, while our Armed Personell have to suffer.

Completely disgusting!!!

Shame on them. They the Government have nothing but contempt for all our armed forces.

Not really cutting the second carrier, just not buying the airwing, so if it is in refit then surely the one airwing can be transferred, meaning we can always have one carrier with those shiny new JSF's (or Naval Typhoons...)

But we could do with more Type-45's and Astutes though, they had their numbers slashed, when we really do need more.

Originally posted by foxhoundone
Could this be because in planning and finance stage there will not be a Britain as such because in 15/20 years time we will all be in a "super" Europe, lets speculate
Britain does the submarines
french do the ships
Germans do the tanks
Spanish do the airplanes
etc, just my 2 euros worth

French ships and German tanks? Ewww, thats worse than swearing at your grandma, don't say that again.....

Britain builds better ships (CVF, Type-45), better subs (Astute), better tanks (Challenger 2) and better planes, so maybe we should just convert our entire industry to making Europes weapons. They can do everything else.

Originally posted by Ulala


Must try harder, USA, must try harder ...

I think it would make a lot of sense to the pull the trillions a year in worldwide defense spending and bring it home.

You can fly a British strike fighter off of those carriers and afford them both.

We will keep our overpriced stuff and you guys can try harder to build your own.

Dont get it.

That all I have to say!

Originally posted by Laurauk
It so annoys me, that the Government rescues the fraudsters in the financial sector, while our Armed Personell have to suffer.

Completely disgusting!!!

Shame on them. They the Government have nothing but contempt for all our armed forces.

This move may in fact benefit those who are doing the actual fighting. I've never quite understood how The Navy has managed to get most of the 'shiny new toys' over the recent years, particularly when compared to what the Army has received in both equipment and number infantry regiments.

Oh we can't afford the JSF? What a surprise....

Why can I see us still using the same but "New and improved" harriers for the considerable future...

Why not, the Harrier is a superb plane, it takes up less room on deck, is easier to maintain and in the low threat environments we will be in for the next couple of decades provides all the close air support we could want. Top up the flight groups with a dozen Rafales on each carrier and we would be fine.

But wait, we signed on to buy these over priced under engineered f-35s which are out matched by the generation before. Not to mention only single engined on a carrier is never a good idea.

Jensy

Good for the gov of the UK.
One more country that keeps it's military industrial complex in check.

Rule the waves? Please. lol

space is where it's at. a few nuke subs, a whack of satellites and you can dominate pretty much any country on the planet.

there is no need for a big fleet, its money wasted taht can be spent on better stuff, like books for school children for instance.