Originally Posted by
Heathrow Harry
Boffin
I'm aware of the design changes between the Amazonas class and the River 2 Class - the question that eminent commentators such as Conrad Waters and Steve Bush have asked is were they all really necessary?
I'm sure the RN thinks they were - but did we get twice as effective as vessel for our money...........................................
With no intention of denigrating either party, I'm reasonably sure that neither Bush nor Waters have the slightest idea about the drivers behind the design changes. I'm also sure that "the RN" had very little to do with them either.
You're continuing with the assumption that the Rivers were the result of some sort of RN requirement - as opposed to the reality that they were the result of indecision and delay on another project. The price of them was driven almost entirely by the contractual construct that supported that.
The design changes referred to are actually driven from a statutory PoV. UK MoD has signed up (along with a large number of other mostly NATO navies) to ANEP77, which mandates some minimum standards for safety.
Don't forget what (and who for) the Amazonas were originally......