Originally Posted by
Not_a_boffin
I'm far from convinced that the "Littoral" is the focus anymore. We appear to be pivoting back to state on state open ocean, as opposed to visiting the peace-loving natives of Umbhoto Gorge. Trouble with SSK is that they're essentially immobile. Great for homeland defence / sea denial, not so good for worldwide ops (compared to SSN).
I am trying to digest the following, does it mean
FCF is being ditched as gash and the Royals are going to be heavily integrated into The Army, littoral strike gets a passing mention on page 105 but LRG(N) looks to me like it is a much diminished version of COMAW's units including 3 Cdo Bde declared to reinforce the Northern Flank when I joined. I suspect LRG(S) will cease to exist in fact if not on paper.
Amphibious Advance Force operations remain a critical focus for the Royal Marines Commando Force, operating in some of the most extreme environments and offering political choice for action worldwide. These operations should increasingly focus on supporting NATO requirements, including integrating into the UK-led Strategic Reserve Corps when appropriate (Chapter 7.3) - p106
Role 2: Deter and defend in the Euro-Atlantic: contributing to NATO Regional Plans through the provision of: CASD; fifth-generation carrier strike capability; anti-submarine warfare, with a focus on securing the North Atlantic through its Atlantic Bastion plan (Box 12); littoral strike; and Type 45 destroyers providing Integrated Air and Missile Defence (Chapter 7.4). - p105