Originally Posted by
Not_a_boffin
That's a new one! Now "the carriers" are to blame for successive governments looking at the conventional missile threat to London and deciding not to acquire GBAD systems.
But still, bloody carriers, eh?
Not quite. I was talking about lack of destroyers/ frigates . There was a strong argument at the time that the carriers would soak up a too big a chunk not only of the RN's budget but also manpower. All things being equal we could have had many more destroyers/frigates in their place. The navy had eyes too big for their budget. The poor readiness of the RN is at least partly a consequence of their pushing to get the two carriers.
If the carrier decision was happening today they would be canx immediately.