PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - The world is rearming at an unprecedented pace and the RN is having a clearance sale
Old 18th Sep 2023, 08:30
  #14 (permalink)  
Not_a_boffin
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Portsmouth
Posts: 532
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There is a difference between "not saying anything about it" and uninformed pearl-clutching.

Selling off life-expired ships for scrap is absolutely the correct thing to do - see ex-Bristol and ex-Walney. The two T23 are less palatable as a number drop, but that should be temporary as all T26 and T31 are now on-contract (as opposed to just "in the long-term programme". So in terms of DD/FF hull numbers that should be resolved. Ditto, the FSS - all on contract at long last. Losing the SVHO isn't great, but they were approaching end of life (perhaps more than apparent!) and there is the ability to exploit uncrewed systems and MROSS for that.

The more serious issue is manpower - and specifically pinch point retention - which is a pay (and in the case of the RFA, terms and conditions issue). Plus the impact of residual ILS reductions and programme deferrals over a decade ago which mean running on old ships longer than they should have been, with consequent knock-on effects. Something which applies across all three services, particularly in engineering trades.

So - had the thread been titled "What do we have to do to fix retention and how much might it cost?" - that might have been useful.
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