I've been out of circulation for a couple of weeks so I don't know whether this subject has been raised or not - maybe it's old news already...
Previous Item | Contents | Next Item
Britain may lose 10 warships to pay for new aircraft carriers: report
LONDON, Oct 8 (AFP) - 00:29 GMT - Britain's Royal Navy is facing the loss of up to 10 warships to pay for two new aircraft carriers, the Daily Telegraph reported Tuesday.
The right-wing daily said that the finance ministry has insisted on axing up to six of the navy's 32 frigates and destroyers, and four minehunters, to cover the 13 billion pound (20 billion dollar, 21 billion euro) cost of the new carriers and their 150 joint strike fighter aircraft.
The paper quoted a leaked memorandum for Commodore Tim Laurence, the Ministry of Defence's director of navy resources and programmes, suggesting each cut should be announced separately to minimise the impact.
According to the memo, "disposal is still likely to be a difficult issue presentationally, both within the department and externally, as it involves a reduction in DD/FF (destroyer/frigate) numbers," The Telegraph reported.
A defence ministry spokeswoman said: "A review of capabilities against operational effectiveness and value for money is ongoing across all three services."
Top of the page Previous Item | Contents | Next Item
© 2002 AFP. All information displayed on this section (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.
More of the same available on
www.defense-aerospace.com