Originally Posted by
Heathrow Harry
"What critical tasks will T45 or SSN be diverted from? Type 45 is there to provide Anti Air Warfare capability with SAMPSON/Sea Viper in defence of a High Value Unit or task group."
They will be diverted from whatever we've been using them for for the last few years
The Design Spec may well be as you say but day-to-day we haven't got a Task Force nor have they been used to protect "high value units". TBH they ARE the high value units until the QE2 commissions.
Whatever they have been doing will no longer be done - we're not buying more or even extra smaller units to replace them in those roles.
If we have two in service at any one time one will be with the QE2 and the other has to cover the rest of our interests. This is what a lot of us are unhappy about - we're gaining some very high end capability at the cost of an awful lot of our current responsibilities
In other words you do not know what T45 has been doing. They have done both general FF/DD tasks and specialist roles in support of US and French carrier groups, as have T23s. In future we will be supporting our own carrier group instead.
As for SSN numbers everyone should have been able to see the phasing out of the T boats and replacement by A boats, and the issue of numbers. However the A boats are designed to not need being taken out of service for refuelling.