UK Maritime Patrol Aircraft - An Urgent Requirement
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If ASTOR survives SDSR etc there is still the problem of availability to conduct maritime patrol. It has been acquired in numbers to satisfy a degree of concurrence that will probably not change signifcantly.
JTO
I accept Raytheon involvement is a given (or should be, but there are many examples of software upgrades not being given to the original supplier), but share the view that care must be exercised over who is driving or championing the programme. Industry tends to conveniently ignore MoD liabilities and dependencies until after the contract is signed.
Earlier it was mention Sentinel is within 3 years of the stated OSD, and that this is an upgrade (and change of use). That is a contradiction in terms. The 5 year rule prevents (or prevented) such upgrades within 5 years of OSD without Ministerial approval. The year on year 20% cut in funding as OSD approached largely prevented it anyway. To make such an announcement now, the decision to extend its life should already have been made and a new SOIU agreed long ago.
I accept Raytheon involvement is a given (or should be, but there are many examples of software upgrades not being given to the original supplier), but share the view that care must be exercised over who is driving or championing the programme. Industry tends to conveniently ignore MoD liabilities and dependencies until after the contract is signed.
Earlier it was mention Sentinel is within 3 years of the stated OSD, and that this is an upgrade (and change of use). That is a contradiction in terms. The 5 year rule prevents (or prevented) such upgrades within 5 years of OSD without Ministerial approval. The year on year 20% cut in funding as OSD approached largely prevented it anyway. To make such an announcement now, the decision to extend its life should already have been made and a new SOIU agreed long ago.
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"I wonder if the NHS community are saying things like "with people screaming that they should spend more and more on things like defence the NHS budget will continue under a great deal of strain"?
If not, they should be. The budget numbers are arse about face. If your defence is ****, you needn't worry about health, education or welfare."
Don't ask me - ask all the people who want lower taxes, more spending on the NHS, lower taxes, Education, lower taxes, roads, houses, lower taxes
It doesn't add up but no politician is willing or able to tell people the truth
The current lot are supposed to be eliminating the deficit but we're still £ 100 Bn in hock
Maybe we need to push income tax back up, cut benefits to pensioners, and make people pay more to use the NHS... but I'm not holding my breath
If not, they should be. The budget numbers are arse about face. If your defence is ****, you needn't worry about health, education or welfare."
Don't ask me - ask all the people who want lower taxes, more spending on the NHS, lower taxes, Education, lower taxes, roads, houses, lower taxes
It doesn't add up but no politician is willing or able to tell people the truth
The current lot are supposed to be eliminating the deficit but we're still £ 100 Bn in hock
Maybe we need to push income tax back up, cut benefits to pensioners, and make people pay more to use the NHS... but I'm not holding my breath
What is the point of pouring more money into a black hole, the NHS will always suck up all any money that it gets. What needs to happen is that we need a review of where the money goes, no more money spent on non medical and cosmetic operations. When all the hip/knee replacements etc have been done and there is still money in the pot we can look at other areas. How much is spent by the NHS on legal costs after being sued? When I was at the periphery of this "Industry" it was into several millions, possibly hundreds of millions.
Just possible if we stopped this huge abuse of the money spent by the NHS we could afford to fill the hole or defend our vital interests. I am a huge fan of the NHS but it needs to refocus on its basic reason to exist.
pm575
Just possible if we stopped this huge abuse of the money spent by the NHS we could afford to fill the hole or defend our vital interests. I am a huge fan of the NHS but it needs to refocus on its basic reason to exist.
pm575
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"What is the point of pouring more money into a black hole, the NHS will always suck up all any money that it gets"
because that's what the Great British Public wants - look at any opinion poll, look at the letters page in any paper, start a conversation at the water cooler or in a bus queue
the NHS is so imbedded as total & overriding necessity in the British pysche that the merest hint of any cut-back turns people in raving loons
because that's what the Great British Public wants - look at any opinion poll, look at the letters page in any paper, start a conversation at the water cooler or in a bus queue
the NHS is so imbedded as total & overriding necessity in the British pysche that the merest hint of any cut-back turns people in raving loons
However ...
the point of Leadership and Government is to provide "the Great British Public" what it needs and not what it wants.
but then again ... there is an election looming.
the point of Leadership and Government is to provide "the Great British Public" what it needs and not what it wants.
but then again ... there is an election looming.
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exactly
but we now have a fragmented political system - it is very unlikely that any one party will form a majority and the chances of getting TWO parties to agree on cutting back on the NHS are near zero - one member of the coalition will always be tempted to claim "we saved the NHS"
but we now have a fragmented political system - it is very unlikely that any one party will form a majority and the chances of getting TWO parties to agree on cutting back on the NHS are near zero - one member of the coalition will always be tempted to claim "we saved the NHS"
If the general public ate healthily (as opposed to "junk" food and 2 bottles of diet coke a day), got moderate exercise, and took responsibility for their own health, as opposed to handing that responsibility to the state, then the burden on the NHS would decrease dramatically.
It's many years since I was a pupil in school, so I don't know what they are taught these days, but in my local towns the supermarkets fill up with children at midday buying their lunch, over 90% of which appear to consist of a snack high in sugar and an equally sugary fizzy drink... so what do they know, what habits are they forming, and what will their health be like in 20 years....
But we live in a society where we don't "dictate" to the individual how they should live their lives. They are left at liberty to trash their bodies. Quite why taxpayers are then expected to pick up the burden for caring for people who can't be bothered to care for themselves, indeed could be said to have inflicted their own maladies upon themselves, I don't know......
It's many years since I was a pupil in school, so I don't know what they are taught these days, but in my local towns the supermarkets fill up with children at midday buying their lunch, over 90% of which appear to consist of a snack high in sugar and an equally sugary fizzy drink... so what do they know, what habits are they forming, and what will their health be like in 20 years....
But we live in a society where we don't "dictate" to the individual how they should live their lives. They are left at liberty to trash their bodies. Quite why taxpayers are then expected to pick up the burden for caring for people who can't be bothered to care for themselves, indeed could be said to have inflicted their own maladies upon themselves, I don't know......
We have just six E-3D's with seven crews (plus two more on 54(R) sqn).
(maybe we've fixed the 7th jet that was rammed and broken by now)
NATO Tasking probably takes up all the available aircraft that are not being used for training and keeping the crews current - where is the scope to use these for Maritime work?
(maybe we've fixed the 7th jet that was rammed and broken by now)
NATO Tasking probably takes up all the available aircraft that are not being used for training and keeping the crews current - where is the scope to use these for Maritime work?
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The E3D that was rammed was repaired. Another aircraft has since been dismantled as part of a teardown survey. It will not fly again. I'm sure one of the spotters will be along with tail numbers shortly.
S-D
S-D
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Loss of the Ocean Way
Another tragic loss in the North Sea:
Fraserburgh skipper and two crew dead after sinking | UK | News | Daily Express
This would seem to be a classic example of when speed of response would have saved lives. Speed and capability which only MPA (MMA) can bring.
I wonder if the bereaved families will now sue the MOD (sound familiar?) for the disgraceful lack of cover in this, the least important of MPA's roles...
Fraserburgh skipper and two crew dead after sinking | UK | News | Daily Express
This would seem to be a classic example of when speed of response would have saved lives. Speed and capability which only MPA (MMA) can bring.
I wonder if the bereaved families will now sue the MOD (sound familiar?) for the disgraceful lack of cover in this, the least important of MPA's roles...
Maybe there should have been a fixed wing component in the SAR privatisation - the USCG have used C-130s for years for SAR (and many European countries use a variety of aircraft for fixed-wing SAR).
Like many other things during the life of recent governments - we do absolutely everything on the cheap whilst stating we have the very best service in the world etc. blah blah....
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The next SDSR could bring more cuts for the RAF
Now we're not in Afghan we've got a fleet of nice C17's with not much to do in the UK, some nice shiny Airbus A330's that can pop to MPA occasionally and the C130J will be replaced by the FLA or whatever they've decided to name it (i forgot, it's been delayed that many times i thought i was never going to see it in service).
I can see either selling C17s / Atlas (i found it) as we have little use for all of them. We might have a few A330's at brize but most of them will be leased out for the holiday makers Med trips to make cash. Will we need all the Lighning II's we were supposed to order?
Less planes / Squadrons, about 25,000-27,000 personnel in a few 'super bases' (Brize, Lossie, Marham, Conningsby and a heli base (pick one) and that would be it. All training consolodated in one place to save even more.
Now we're not in Afghan we've got a fleet of nice C17's with not much to do in the UK, some nice shiny Airbus A330's that can pop to MPA occasionally and the C130J will be replaced by the FLA or whatever they've decided to name it (i forgot, it's been delayed that many times i thought i was never going to see it in service).
I can see either selling C17s / Atlas (i found it) as we have little use for all of them. We might have a few A330's at brize but most of them will be leased out for the holiday makers Med trips to make cash. Will we need all the Lighning II's we were supposed to order?
Less planes / Squadrons, about 25,000-27,000 personnel in a few 'super bases' (Brize, Lossie, Marham, Conningsby and a heli base (pick one) and that would be it. All training consolodated in one place to save even more.
we've got a fleet of nice C17's with not much to do in the UK
some nice shiny Airbus A330's [sic]
Which are already being deployed in support of ops in the ME, are based in FI and will continue to support routine and emergency movement of kit and personnel.
I can see either selling C17s / Atlas (i found it) as we have little use for all of them
I got this from one of the Defence commentators this week:
Suggestions in recent weeks that HM Treasury is pressurising for a further 7.7% cut in defence spending over the five year period 2016-2021 would, if correct, be at complete odds with clear need to increase spending on defence and the unambiguous promise from the Prime Minister, David Cameron, made at the time SDSR 2010 defence cuts were announced, that real time spending on defence would rise by 1% annually through the following 2016 -2021 period.
On current expectations from a total 2015 UK public spending budget of £731bn spending on defence will total £45.6bn. Contrast this with spending by other government departments - £150bn on pensions, £133bn on healthcare, £90bn on education £90bn, £110bn on welfare and you will see that defence now comes way down the list. Put another way would be to say that while health, pensions, welfare and education mop up a total 65% of all public expenditure the 35% of rest that includes Defence, Justice, Transport, Trade and Industry, Administration, Culture, Environment, Housing, Environment, Overseas Aid together with the £8.6bn net contribution (£17.1bn gross – exclusive of the requested extra £1.7bn) that we pay to the EU together plus also, an anticipated £52bn interest cost of servicing the national debt.
To think that we spend less on defence today than on servicing the national debt is frightening enough but when we look at how spending on health has spiralled out of control (this has all but doubled since 1997) makes a very bad situation look very much worse........
For the Royal Air Force which has so often been the first port of call by the Government to provide conflict capability we must also address the seriousness of shortages faced in terms of fast jet squadrons. Last month 2 Squadron with its fantastic Tornado GR4 capability was given another extra year of life but the reality is that we cannot do without one less Tornado until at least 2019. I have already written on this previously but the reality is that, as was the promise held out when the then Chief of the Air Staff reluctantly signed up to the SDSR 2010 cuts that the plan was down to seven fast jet squadrons ahead of building up to nine. Will the Royal Air Force get the planned number of 48 F-35 Lightning Joint Strike Fighter ‘B’ variants? I certainly hope that it will. What I do not want to see is one step forward two steps back. The Royal Air Force will eventually have the finest aircraft capability in Typhoon and JSF and nothing must be done that shifts away from what the Future Force 2020 intended.
On current expectations from a total 2015 UK public spending budget of £731bn spending on defence will total £45.6bn. Contrast this with spending by other government departments - £150bn on pensions, £133bn on healthcare, £90bn on education £90bn, £110bn on welfare and you will see that defence now comes way down the list. Put another way would be to say that while health, pensions, welfare and education mop up a total 65% of all public expenditure the 35% of rest that includes Defence, Justice, Transport, Trade and Industry, Administration, Culture, Environment, Housing, Environment, Overseas Aid together with the £8.6bn net contribution (£17.1bn gross – exclusive of the requested extra £1.7bn) that we pay to the EU together plus also, an anticipated £52bn interest cost of servicing the national debt.
To think that we spend less on defence today than on servicing the national debt is frightening enough but when we look at how spending on health has spiralled out of control (this has all but doubled since 1997) makes a very bad situation look very much worse........
For the Royal Air Force which has so often been the first port of call by the Government to provide conflict capability we must also address the seriousness of shortages faced in terms of fast jet squadrons. Last month 2 Squadron with its fantastic Tornado GR4 capability was given another extra year of life but the reality is that we cannot do without one less Tornado until at least 2019. I have already written on this previously but the reality is that, as was the promise held out when the then Chief of the Air Staff reluctantly signed up to the SDSR 2010 cuts that the plan was down to seven fast jet squadrons ahead of building up to nine. Will the Royal Air Force get the planned number of 48 F-35 Lightning Joint Strike Fighter ‘B’ variants? I certainly hope that it will. What I do not want to see is one step forward two steps back. The Royal Air Force will eventually have the finest aircraft capability in Typhoon and JSF and nothing must be done that shifts away from what the Future Force 2020 intended.
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Brize, Lossie, Marham, Conningsby and a heli base
edit:
If there's no need for all these aircraft because we're pulling out of a conflict, are you suggesting we need to rebuy everything for each deployment?
We could just shred everything and start fresh each time???
Or shall we keep them in the UK and do something stupid, like training, for example?
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Not an IStAR type, Well not since I was made redundant when Kinloss and the Nimrods went!
I wasn't suggesting anything I was agreeing with the comments that the politicos will cut whatever they can to feed the NHS.... It was rather tongue in cheek, obviously I've lost my subtlety since I left.m
I wasn't suggesting anything I was agreeing with the comments that the politicos will cut whatever they can to feed the NHS.... It was rather tongue in cheek, obviously I've lost my subtlety since I left.m