Originally Posted by
SASless
Wee, Just how good are Aircraft Engineers at forecasting spares usage?
If the assumed spare usage is correct for the planned operational period....fine.
What happens when the deployment gets extended....remembering some of our Carriers have stayed at sea and operational for very long times....what then?
Can the UK Carriers conduct underway replenishment to transfer those lacking Spares?
Does the RN have the cargo carrying capacity to do a re-supply to the carrier for those odd items that might be missing from the Carrier stocks in a timely fashion?
It is a long way from Plymouth to the Persian Gulf.
Are your carriers capable of 159 days at sea without a Port Call....without being resupplied with aircraft spares, food, fuel, armament, etc?
https://products.kitsapsun.com/archi...rier_to_d.html
I don't think the RN have ever had the ability to air move large items from the UK directly to a deployed carrier at sea so it's not exactly a new problem set.
The carriers in the Falklands war managed a significant period at sea without a port call, so again not a new problem.
Different to the USN doesn't necessarily mean worse, acquiring a CMV-22B capability for the UK would be a significant cost for a limited increase in capability due to the small numbers involved.