Some of these industries have a "use it or lose it" problem. See
this article from Janes.
Giving evidence before the House of Commons Defence Committee (HCDC), officials from BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce said that the industry needed a firm commitment from government on a future submarine build programme in order to assure continuity of work and long-term viability.
Not surprisingly, the thickos in Government cannot understand that.
On a different note...
On the
845 NAS Photo Gallery there are some pictures of Sea Kings on and around the quayside in Beirut. Does anyone know what they did?
Am I right in thinking the evacuation could have still gone ahead if there had been no access to Beirut port? The six Junglies and three Chinooks could have pick up entitled persons, and smaller ports (or even beaches) could have been used by
Bulwark's landing craft?