Decision to axe Harrier is "bonkers".

[WE Branch Fanatic]

From the Telegraph: Navy cuts will put lives at risk, warn Forces chiefs

The scrapping of the Royal Navy's Harrier fleet, in particular, has "profound consequences" that "strike at the heart of our Defence structure", they say.

The authors, who include Field Marshal Lord Bramall, the former head of the Armed Forces, as well as six retired admirals and three generals, say the move undermines the Navy's ability to protect the Army or Royal Marines on amphibious operations.

These can no longer be attempted against "even a lightly armed aggressor" without "considerable risk" to the safety of soldiers, they say.

The letter's authors include Lt Gen Sir Hew Pike, the decorated Parachute Regiment officer, Maj Gen Julian Thompson, the Falklands commander, Admiral Sir Jeremy Black, who commanded the aircraft carrier Invincible in the Falklands, and Prof Nicholas Rodger, an Oxford academic.

They recommend a "rapid re-evaluation" of last year's Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR), which they warn was "unduly trusting in an uncertain, fast-moving and dangerous world".