TBW/ME
I was talking about things out of the blue - you know, the things that have always dominated history.
I think that we can say that after Afghanistan, the next opponent will probably not be land locked. They might even have a navy or air force - maybe both. On which note, what if we end up fighting Al Qeada in a state that does have a coast (I'm not going to spell it out, but I have two in mind), and CAS is needed? To add to the problems, we are reducing our amphibious forces.
As to skill fade, I see that you concentrate on pilots, but ignored my point about everyone else involved in running a carrier's flying operations, like flight deck crews - the chockheads who need to be able to work safely on the flight deck, moving aircraft (engines running) around the deck in tight confines, the people on the Bridge keeping the ship heading the right direction for flying, the Marine Engineering types in the Ship Control Centre - maintaining trim for the benefit of flying, the operators and maintainers of various sensors and landing aids, ATC, Fighter Controllers, and more. We're not sending them on exchange.
The First Sea Lord has acknowledged that regenerating fixed wing carrier aviation in 2020 after a gap of this long will be an enormous challenge.
Last edited by WE Branch Fanatic; 20th Oct 2010 at 08:14.