The real requirement for all three services is a government that takes defence seriously and is prepared to raise the taxes to pay for it.
I have always had the greatest respect for the Royal Marines and the CHF: also, the need to sustain the littoral capability – never understood why anyone in Dark Blue could think otherwise. In the event of no friendly local government or secure airfield it is always the naval capability most likely to be used IMHO. I may always have been a blue water big gun/4 carrier fantasist but know we need as much of an all-round capability as can be afforded. We also need enough airframes and ships that we can afford to lose some and still fight.
Feels like 1982 all over again – though the defence budget, was a lot larger in GDP terms. None of this is going to be fixed in the immediate post-C19 environment. Imagine being depressed by a reduction to c. 50 escorts today!
In ’82 when Op Corporate kicked off, Michael Clapp was expecting Hermes or Invincible to be a dedicated LPH for retaking the Falklands - not having a dedicated LPH was a real issue for him. 38 years on we are back to the same issue.
RN got Ocean (built to commercial specs as the ‘affordable’ solution) then HMG stripped fixed wing A to A and then GA from the CVs, so all were now CVS/LPHs with only close in AA weapons. No replacement for Ocean so no dedicated LPH but two much bigger CVAs.
As
Bing says, one assumes in the event of a littoral operation the plan would be for the Junglies to fly from QE or PoW: can one hull be a CVA, CVS and LPH at once in a medium or high level conflict? It is not just the availability of a deck but all the support and maintenance to sustain the flying – it needs to be in the same single ship for efficiency. Presumably 847 need carrying too to provide Wildcats for battlefield recce?
The RMs with LPDs but no LPH to me has a parallel with removing the guns from Harrier - reduce the capability and then later dispense with it as it cannot do the job. They will need support from the Chinook Force (as
Evalu8ter implies) and, as I was (additionally) loudly reminded on Thursday, the AAC with Apaches. It is a purple world now folks.
PS Wasn’t the original plan all Merlin when Lynx retired?
Ramble/Rant over.
For
comic light relief: Regarding refuelling
Surely with multiple non-US F35B operators, in the medium term there is room for a couple of money pits e.g. a reengined STORVL MQ-25B or Harrier KQ Mk13 with buddy tanks?
Pegasus generates twice the thrust of the F137 and isn’t much bigger. Shame they did not make the QEs STOBAR then a MiG29K with buddy tanks style option would be possible (but serviceable more than one day per week please).