Originally Posted by
Not_a_boffin
Hmmm, that's not what it says. But don't let that get in the way of a good drip.....
58.
With the Queen Elizabeth
-class aircraft carriers shortly coming into service, generation of a carrier group will become a priority task for the Royal Navy. In 2017 the Public Accounts Committee was told that a sovereign carrier group at the ‘maximum level’ of deployment would require two air defence destroyers and two ASW frigates, along with an attack submarine and attached support shipping.
115 Generating such a force for any length of time is likely to put considerable strain on the Royal Navy, given the current size of the Fleet.
116 The carriers are likely to be operating within larger allied groups in the future, but we disagree with the National Security Adviser that we should proceed on the basis this is inevitable.
117 Operating aircraft carrierswithout the sovereign ability to protect them is complacent at best and potentially dangerous at worst. The UK should be able to sustain this capacity without recourse to other states.
Deary me, chickens coming home to roost.