Would appear Australia is flogging off everything but the kitchen sink.
LOL, not to put you chaps off, but two of the ships likely to be sold are the Kanimbla (AKA the "Crumbler") amd the Manoora ("Manure"). Typical attempt at defence going cheap to save dollars and ending up spending far more (probably could have bought new).
Both vessels were purchased second hand off the septics and originally started their lives as: Newport-class tank landing ship - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The survey teams that inspected the vessels prior to the purchase missed the massive corrosion and other problems. The vessels were modified by the addition of a large hangar, removal of the bow ramps etc. The original budget was $60 million, by the time the conversion was complete and after discovering all the problems the final cost had become $400 Million. Yep, that's right nearly 7 times as much for a 15 year working life.
On the rest of the article - yes the old vehicle fleet is being replaced by a new fleet - the old stuff has got to go ( would love a 'mog). As to the rest of the list there have been no announcements made yet - as has been pointed out above, even if we sold all our new kit as well I doubt we'd have 110 helos. Also we operate heavily upgraded F/A-18A's and B's not C/D. And we won't be getting rid of them anytime soon as we won't be seeing the replacement airframes (F-35's) here before 2018ish at the earliest.
Both vessels were purchased second hand off the septics and originally started their lives as: Newport-class tank landing ship - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The survey teams that inspected the vessels prior to the purchase missed the massive corrosion and other problems. The vessels were modified by the addition of a large hangar, removal of the bow ramps etc. The original budget was $60 million, by the time the conversion was complete and after discovering all the problems the final cost had become $400 Million. Yep, that's right nearly 7 times as much for a 15 year working life.
On the rest of the article - yes the old vehicle fleet is being replaced by a new fleet - the old stuff has got to go ( would love a 'mog). As to the rest of the list there have been no announcements made yet - as has been pointed out above, even if we sold all our new kit as well I doubt we'd have 110 helos. Also we operate heavily upgraded F/A-18A's and B's not C/D. And we won't be getting rid of them anytime soon as we won't be seeing the replacement airframes (F-35's) here before 2018ish at the earliest.
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: East Sussex UK
Age: 66
Posts: 6,995
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like
on
1 Post
Courtney ... with a bit of "alignment therapy" that bloke Keesje might be the ticket for Head of Communications/Press Secretary.
How about F3WMB for Education Secretary ... but we should offer him a combat role in something fast
I've got the funding mechanics sorted ... We buy all we need (and a few extra toys) and I'll then speak to the Banks and have them parcel up the debt and flog the bonds to South American Countries ... that way we shaft them both ways
The Empire Strikes Back ... has a nice ring to it doesn't it ...
How about F3WMB for Education Secretary ... but we should offer him a combat role in something fast
I've got the funding mechanics sorted ... We buy all we need (and a few extra toys) and I'll then speak to the Banks and have them parcel up the debt and flog the bonds to South American Countries ... that way we shaft them both ways
The Empire Strikes Back ... has a nice ring to it doesn't it ...
Last edited by CoffmanStarter; 2nd Feb 2013 at 08:03.
