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Old 5th Jun 2011, 20:20
  #34 (permalink)  
Widger
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: MARS
Posts: 1,103
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All wishful thinking. Despite the clear requirement for LRMPA and the desire of both light and dark blue to regain such a capability, there is NO MONEY. Indeed it is my personal view that much more will go in the next few years to pay off the arrears of the MOD's mortgage. The UK is broke and cannot afford any new capabilities. You only have to look at how perfectly good capabilities are being thrown on the scrapheap to save money to see that.

Type 22 gone
Sentinel to go in 2015
E3D downsizing
Type 42, last few hulls
CVF, possibly down to one hull
JCA.....will we ever see it? I doubt it!
Serious discussion about not having 4 SSBNs
Reduction in attack submarines
GR4 reductions
Harrier gone
Jaguar gone
Regiments amalgamated
Airfields closed
AS90s reduced
FRES?? etc etc etc

and many, many more enabling capabilities that make all the above work, all being burnt on the bonfire of Billions and Billions of debt. Don't kid yourselves that anything will get better before 2020 because there is no money, what is left is broken and people will soon be leaving in droves as the pressure of the Stan and Libya, means doing much much more with less.

The UK public is as deluded with the ability of the military to do whatever is bid by politicians, without the appropriate funding as it is with the state of the economy. In both cases, it will only be a strategic upset (god-forbid) that will change this attitude of both fingers in the ears and "la, la, la I'm not listening!"
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