I mentioned this yesterday on the 'Red October or Chilly November thread'. Putting aside the significant tactical implications - vessels will have to move in closer to engage targets, thereby increasing risk to longer range return fire, which significantly increases the strategic risk to the RN when you only have a small number of vessels – this is represents the further continued running down of a the RN (and RAF) at a time when commitments are increasing.
To blithely dismiss it as we continually monitor developments and operational requirements as part of our increasingly well funded equipment programme both fails to capture the tactical and strategic risk, reinforces the notion that capability are acceptable and leads to the obvious question of why are we taking such capability holidays given the allegedly increasing equipment budget and now oft trumpeted world’s 5th largest defence budget.
Their statements just don’t add up and need to be challenged. If it’s a funding issue the politicians and mandarins need to shut up about increasing budgets; if it’s an operational decision, whoever made it needs to be held to account and the decision fully scrutinised given that it verges on negligent