Scottish Defence Force?
 

I thought about attaching this to the Scots Hamsterwheel thread, but think this place is more appropriate somehow, please excuse me if this has already been discussed but tried the search function already...

Apparently as a part of Scottish independence, there will be a splitting up of the RAF/Army with 16-18 Typhoons, four C-130J's and six Army helos to go North of the border permanently.

That's according to SNP's manifesto anyway. We, in return, will get the Trident base sent South to what remains of the UK.

What do we think? Scotch pie in the sky, or a genuine workable proposition? Is it time for nations to consider dropping national air forces in favour of a NATO (or similar) common force, committed to supporting all member states unilaterally? Or is there a third way?

I went to a parish council meeting the other night. The discussion regarding Mrs Smith's dog fouling the verge and whether this particular location was in a "pick-it-up" zone or not was more structured and subject to far more considered thought/discussion.

They really don't have a clue.

Headless chickens come to mind, apologies to the chooks.:rolleyes:

It's all pie in the sky! The Scots would never be able to afford to run a small number of Typhoons although I suspect British Aerospace would be happy to charge them the earth to try!:ok:

Hmmmm and no back up for them.. I wonder how many crews will "defect"

That's ok, they are the 16th richest country in the world, they can afford it and I am sure BAE will extract as much as that as possible.

Lambs to the slaughter comes to mind, as long as it is independent from the UK ;)

Maybe we should have a quick poll NutLoose!

Any volunteers on Prune?

Scottish Defence Force?
 

You're assuming they actually want to operate them, surely it's just an indication of what they would be entitled to. What an independent Scotland does with it's assets would be up to them - sell to the highest bidder? £126 m each?

or rather, what they think they would be entitled to.

If one gets divorced, one is entitled to a half share after the costs of separation are taken into account. I certainly hope that if Scotland goes its own way the Westminster government screws them over and does not roll over and be a soft touch. I personally dont care if the Scots vote YES, provided they pay the full costs of breaking down the Union - and also that we dont have any Scots in Westminster - that should keep Labour out of power for a generation!

The thought of having a Trident base South of the border is nice. Although if I've got this right, the British Armed Forces serve Great Britain, so an independent Scotland will no longer be part of Great Britain, therefore they will no longer get to call their selves British. So, no. Bring the Trident subs to British bases, bring all of our equipment and personnel to Britain and let them have their own armed forces. Fair?

If they want independence then they can have independence, but not at the cost of shrinking our armed forces even further.

Unless of course they want to pay for all of the equipment and personnel. Those Typhoons are pretty expensive, and the Subs will break the bank a bit.

Newt

I notice that some small independent nations in Northern Europe (with populations of 5m) appear perfectly able to operate complex fighter aircraft.

f35.global

These things take time - I wouldn't expect a functioning airforce (tailored to the realistic needs of Scotland) to be ready on the 19th September.

Bomber Bomber Bomber! You know that will never happen! Already moved my residence to England! Are you a secret Scot by any chance?

Bclass. Those countries have been independent for ever so have been able to adjust their requirements over a very long period of time. Scotland starts from zero so has little idea of what they need and where they fit into NATO or even Europe. Start up cost will always escalate as they naturally do when it comes to defence cost. Either that or they will remain totally inadequate.

Culloden 2? Sorted.

Newt - I wouldn't say 109 years was "for ever"

But much longer than eighteen months!:ugh:

Ahem, whilst I am by no manner a separatists, I would respectfully point out that we HAVE already paid for them, with our taxes, in the same way as England, Wales and Northern Ireland have.

If the Scots aren't allowed to 'adopt' the pound sterling, Wee Eck says they'll default on their share of the national debt. Now if there were only some assets that were movable and could be moved south of the border quickly to help pay off their share of the defaulted debt. :hmm:

Do you mean Typhoons, ships and submarines by any chance?:ok:

It's all very well being given 16 Typhoons etc.etc. but are there any crews that would be prepared to leave the RAF/RN/ARMY to fly them, I must say as a member of the general, great unwashed public, the thought of Rab C Nesbitt climbing into a Typhoon is slightly concerning, he would never get his headband under his helmet

http://cdn.ebaumsworld.com/mediaFile...2/81039733.jpg

I fear we can't expect this.