And given the noises coming out of places in and around the Government lately, the Armed Forces in general and the Navy in particular may find itself doing with a good deal less. The Type 45, by all accounts, is an excellent warship with a good deal of potential in it as well; 6 ships of the class will not be enough, especially when so much of the rest of the Fleet will not be replaced anyway.
And given the noises coming out of places in and around the Government lately, the Armed Forces in general and the Navy in particular may find itself doing with a good deal less. The Type 45, by all accounts, is an excellent warship with a good deal of potential in it as well; 6 ships of the class will not be enough, especially when so much of the rest of the Fleet will not be replaced anyway.
D
Deleted member 675
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Future plans are not certain, but current suggestions are that the F-35s will operate as Joint Force Harrier does - both the RN and RAF's birds operating under one command in the RAF.
Either way the Royal Navy will have the use of the F-35B.
in the Financial Times, 11 January, 2007:
MoD is already struggling with a budget that the article reports may be as much as 2 billion pounds short to meet current expenses, and the Government has not yet signed the necessary 15-year committment with the would-be prime contractors. The Government faces re-election in the fairly near future, which may complicate matters even further. Not a single steel plate has yet been cut for the carrier project. At this rate, even if the CVF Project does get off the ground, it may be at least half a decade behind; after all, the first steel was originally planned to be cut in 2005.
MoD is already struggling with a budget that the article reports may be as much as 2 billion pounds short to meet current expenses, and the Government has not yet signed the necessary 15-year committment with the would-be prime contractors. The Government faces re-election in the fairly near future, which may complicate matters even further. Not a single steel plate has yet been cut for the carrier project. At this rate, even if the CVF Project does get off the ground, it may be at least half a decade behind; after all, the first steel was originally planned to be cut in 2005.
D
Deleted member 675
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The time-frames of 2014 and 2016 have taken into account the delay so far.
As to the article, the MoD denied it pretty much out of hand and said everything was on course. They wouldn't do that if things were problematic because they'd be painting themselves into a corner.
by Michael Smith (The Sunday Times):
Apparently, the third tranche of 88 Typhoons is considered unnecessary by the Treasury, and it also wants the JSF acquisition reduced; 2 Tornado GR.4 squadrons are to be eliminated. The Navy will be reduced to 20 from 25 escort ships, losing one Type 23 frigate and all 4 Type 22's (granted these are old). The carriers are delayed by two years; as Fu mentioned, this means 2014 and 2016 are the planned dates for QE and PoW.
Apparently, the third tranche of 88 Typhoons is considered unnecessary by the Treasury, and it also wants the JSF acquisition reduced; 2 Tornado GR.4 squadrons are to be eliminated. The Navy will be reduced to 20 from 25 escort ships, losing one Type 23 frigate and all 4 Type 22's (granted these are old). The carriers are delayed by two years; as Fu mentioned, this means 2014 and 2016 are the planned dates for QE and PoW.
D
Deleted member 675
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I think you're crossing your wires.
1. The Treasury is targetting one of those projects, not all of them.
2. The carriers have already slipped to 2014 and 2016 - another two years' delay would go on top of that.