Originally Posted by Ken Scott
£70k per hour is the total cost of operating a Typhoon, including R&D etc, not the marginal cost of running the thing (fuel, servicing etc).
Are you seriously saying that it's cheaper to keep an aircraft carrier steaming up & down the Med, with 1000 people supporting 6 Harriers, and the ship escorted by other ships & at least one RFA, than it is to keep several hundred RAF people in some fairly mediocre hotels? The carrier may already have been paid for (although you include a portion of the purchase cost of the Typhoon in its cost) but it's still an expensive piece of kit to operate.
Certainly more cost effective and arguably cheaper. A CVS cruises all day on two Olys consuming relatively cheap grade fuel. Overall, I imagine the twin RB 199s and twin EJ 200s powering the Tornados and Typhoons consume a fair bit of expensive jet fuel during their lengthy multiple transits across the Med, particularly when using reheat. Then there are the associated tankers and their fuel to consider.
Why only six Harriers? A CVS can operate up to 18.
According to Hansard, there are c.950 RAF personnel specifically deployed for Libya ops to sustain around 20 strike a/c (AD is covered by other nations) and their supporting assets from static airfields run by other people, mainly in Italy. 1,000 RN personnel to support and operate a similar number of strike a/c (for which the R&D has already been paid) AND a mobile airfield with comprehensive C3I facilities just off the Libyan coast sounds like a bargain to me. We already have DD/FF and RFAs in place for other reasons so little extra cost there.
I don't understand what you mean by
"The carrier may already have been paid for (although you include a portion of the purchase cost of the Typhoon in its cost)" so I can't address it.