whats the annual cost of a carrier and air wing?
Difficult to quantify, we had the harriers, all paid for and sitting in a hangar, we still have the ship, manpower etc. The ship is sailing the high seas doing absolutely NOTHING but still incurring costs to we the tax payer so does it incur extra cost by being off the cost of Libya as opposed to off the coast of Torquay?!!
Plus what was the cost of NOT having that air wing when we look at Tornado aircraft diverting to Malta, sometimes even blocking its main civilian runway and then what is the cost of having to fly out the support required to get these defective aircraft back to Italy.
Servicing would be another issue and is it cost effective to fly an aircraft for EIGHT hours to perhaps only be over target for a few minutes compared to the carrier only being a few minutes from the target?
Well done to the RAF for the role they carried out and well done to those that maintained these aircraft but that deployment cost well over £1billion and was it the best use of tax payers money when we had the Harriers and we had the carrier?
Yes it would take time to work-up those assets but we were aware of this situation, we drew up ultimatums way back in 2010 which would have given us ample opportunity to get organised and operational. (We do have previous experience of doing this)
Yes Ocean was on station with four Apache aircraft but was that a good alternative?
British attack helicopters were not decisive whereas French choppers were crucial. Flying in pairs, the British Apaches on board HMS Ocean completed roughly 50 combat sorties striking 100 targets in the coastal areas of Brega and Tripoli. On the other side, the French combat helicopters flew around 300 combat sorties and destroyed more than 500 targets.
The French choppers flew within strike packages that consisted of 2-6 Gazelles armed with HOT-ATGMs, 2 Tigers and 2 Puma, in cooperation with maritime gunfire support. The French usually deployed their helicopters within the frame of tightly-integrated strike packages, usually consisting of between 2 and 6 HOT ATGM-armed Gazelles, 2 Tigres and 2 Pumas (flying-CP and for CSAR), and in cooperation with naval gunfire support (100 and 76mm calibre rounds). “They have destroyed most of what was left of the regime’s armoured and mechanized forces (what was left after the wholesale destruction of the 32AB near Benghazi, on 19-21 March, and after the failure of assaults on Misurata
No matter what our boys in light blue keep saying... An aircraft carrier would have been a far, far better option and if our little country wants to play with the big boys then the decisions that were made regarding this valuable asset were indeed bonkers.
I bet Eddie Stobart and his drivers were laughing all the way to the bank, this whole defence review has been one big lash up!! Reduce the Army make redundant hundreds of truck drivers and then charter fleets of very nice looking Eddie Stobart vehicles.
I'm sorry but I served on a carrier that was involved in quelling civil unrest, rescuing passengers from a sinking cruise liner and showing the flag in numerous foreign ports. These ships are far more than a floating airfield, they are ambassadors of our proud nation, they are the ultimate power projection as well as a brilliant advert for our military.
If we cannot afford this type of asset then get off the stage and join the audience.
I am NOT saying we must have a carrier, I am saying we are wrong to play games with the lives of extremely professional, extremely dedicated hard working, conscientious men and women that would NEVER hesitate to put themselves in harms way. If we want to be on that stage then make sure we have the right props for the right show.