@UKDefJournal Shocked I tell you… well done andover/MB. This is meant to be a NATO first gov too right… @SpannerOperator @Tankman94
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Josh Thackham
6.1K posts
Josh Thackham
@ThackhamJosh
Staring out the window for a living. Interest in all things Maritime & Defence related. All views my own
Katılım Şubat 2020
558 Takip Edilen206 Takipçiler
The UK is currently below the level required by NATO capability targets and does not yet have the full heavy force mass sought for high-intensity operations, Ministry of Defence officials told MPs. Click image for more.
ukdefencejournal.org.uk/uk-below-nato-…
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@UKForcesTracker @pegge49 Think escorts should be priority after EUSTON & before other two. Need to build a force( north of 30 FF/DD) again. Still think there is something funny going on with ships manning/personnel numbers
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@pegge49 EUSTON, Castle class MCM and MRSS should be the priorities, with a solid commitment to T83 immediately afterwards
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With no sign of the DIP & talk of possibly delaying ship building projects, thought I'd repost this...
Yes the previous Govt has a lot to answer for, but in 19+ months whilst we've have plenty of war footing talk & spin, the current Govt hasn't ordered a single ship (or dry dock)
Ancient Mariner@pegge49
This... Sadly urgency is concept lost at the MOD. T26-1998 1st of class ISD 2027? Future MCM ships-2007 no orders T32-2010 maybe never FSS-2015 ISD 2031? MRSS-2021 no orders Dry Docks-2023 no orders Don't forget in 2017 the Govn had a plan to secure the future of UK shipbuilding.
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@AC_NavalHistory @Drachinifel A former nation of sailors/the sea..
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Ok I would have been understanding with a 33% even... not happy, but understanding... but these results... @Drachinifel we need to fire up the cameras and get recording...
YouGov@YouGov
Which do you think is the most important branch of the armed forces for UK national security? Royal Air Force: 22% The Army: 21% Royal Navy: 16% Don't know: 41% Results link in replies
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@mickpr1 @pegge49 If we go of 30 meaning 10 available as a pool take easily 4-6 away for CSG 1-2 away for TAPs only leaves 3 ish left for MRSS escort & other independent taskings & even 3:1 isnt ideal 4:1 is what we need for sustained, consistent tempo that is demanded in current world in my view
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@ThackhamJosh @pegge49 To truly rebuild the RN and to be able to run ‘ carrier strike’ deployments properly we should have around 30 DD/FF, 10 SSN, 4 SSK, 4 SSBN + MRSS and patrol/ MCM ships. Will never happen, probably
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Aye, presumably available with 3-7 days notice, but once more showing the price of replacing 12 T42s with 6 T45s...
Still I'm sure a former Sea Lord will have nothing to say about his role in leaving 'the Navy better organised and equipped to face the challenges of the future'...
Britsky@TBrit90
Back to yellow she goes.
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@pegge49 Should we have that many FF & DD again? Putting aside what gov will do etc. how many do we need. Think we should be looking more at 14 AAW escorts/DD than 6 & definitely more than 13 FF
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@ThackhamJosh Technically the lost T42s and T21s were replaced by the four T22B3. So post Falklands, the Type 42 force reset at 12 ships, whilst the frigate force increased in size.
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GIF
QME
@ModernNavy @FennellJW @DefenceHQ @RFAHeadquarters @RoyalNavy Treat people badly, don’t pay them well, they leave . Who’d have thought it ?
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Latest figures show there are 1,733 personnel in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. This is a significant reduction from earlier this century. There were approximately 2,300 personnel in 2010 @DefenceHQ @RFAHeadquarters @RoyalNavy @ModernNavy
whatdotheyknow.com/request/royal_…
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@BearJFK General Electric LM2500. BAE were pulling their hair our as they knew their way around it and considered it a much lower risk option for Type 45. Hoon overruled them.
WR-21 was once considered for the Zumwalts and what became FREMM, but was curiously rejected by everyone but us.
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Old "Buff" piping up....
The guy who sold off 20% of the Royal Navy's Type 23 frigates and...
...insisted, for political reasons, on the cursed WR-21 gas turbine that's hobbled the Type 45 Destroyer fleet, and cost countless hundreds of £££, and reduced availability by decades.
LBC@LBC
'This would double the risk to the West.' Defence Secretary under Tony Blair, Geoff Hoon, says that sending a British warship to the Strait of Hormuz would leave it as a 'sitting duck'.
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@andy9716 @Zaphod2042 & everyone its seems but us has rejected it or ‘not picked it’
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@Zaphod2042 Yes, we bought the WR21 for political/industrial reasons despite the fact Westinghouse pulled out & it wasn’t tested completely. We are now buying Ajax for political/industrial reasons despite the fact its hasn’t passed tests and has made users ill.
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@BearJFK At least in 🇺🇸 they’re somewhat correcting & look to have follow on & voters have caught on so are electing them
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@ThackhamJosh Look at Dems US, Aus, Can, Ire, Spain, Germany…same policies
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Now model the impact on voting
Centre for Migration Control@migrationCtrl
It’s looking increasingly likely that Labour will give 1.6 million migrants settled status - and thus access to Britain’s welfare state and eventual citizenship. It is a crowded field, but this would be one of largest immigration betrayals yet. telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/03/1…
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@BearJFK We can also mention that the F-14 was a air-superiority fighters which operated along side the F-18. And they had the Viking anti-submarine aircraft too.
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As powerful as the US is, it is actually quite reduced. It certainly cannot pull off an operation anywhere near the size of Desert Storm.
JeremyNorman@JeremyN80616364
What is US carrier groups is meant to be. 1 fleet carrier 110,000 tons nuclear power. 60 fast jets, 30 other aircraft. 1 nuclear powered cruiser. 2 conventional powered cruisers. 6 destroyers, 4 frigates, 4 SSN's. 3 At sea replenishment ships 2 solid stores replenishment ships
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@NadsDogs @BearJFK @thinkdefence Why should we exclude them specifically? They would set up local supply chains it would be IP & design they would be long distancing?
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@BearJFK @ThackhamJosh @thinkdefence South Korea cannot be relied on, in terms of supply, if there was a war...so its a firm no from me...might as well buy from Israel...(who we should also firmly exclude from our supply chain...).
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Yes
Now, perhaps an exchange whereby they just buy the jets off the existing partners (no further industrial complication) and we buy a f-tonne of vehicles off Poland?
@thinkdefence
Defence Index@Defence_Index
🇵🇱 BREAKING: Poland is moving to join the Global Combat Air Programme, a next gen 6th generation multi role fighter initiative led by Italy, Japan, and the UK. Official talks are underway with Italian and Japanese aviation industries, signaling a major leap for the Polish Air Force.
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@thinkdefence I'll say it again, no one gave a shit about jobs when they awarded the contract and closed Leeds and Newcastle.
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@DefenceSenseUK @DefenceSynergia @IBallantyn Tanker goes much further when carrier isnt guzzling the motion lotion. Even with 1 occasionally 2x Tides for a 🇬🇧 CSG its not enough so the nuclear thing is handy
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@DefenceSynergia @IBallantyn Though:
- escorts require tanker
- aircraft require fuel/tanking
- singular ship again
Is it €13bn?
Vs
£6.2bn for QE carriers > know my choice.
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Nuclear power reduces the carrier's dependence on tankers whilst cats n traps provide for proper AEW cover, airborne AAR and long range air resupply.
Nicholas Drummond@nicholadrummond
France's Porte-Avions Nouvelle Génération (PANG) or New Generation Aircraft Carrier is formidable: • Displaces 75,000 tonnes • Nuclear powered • 2,000 crew • 30 fixed-wing aircraft - Rafale, SCAF, & E2 Hawkeye • 6-8 ASW helicopters. • Expected cost: €10 billion. As impressive as the "France Libre" will be, I worry that it puts too many eggs in one basket. In a world of naval drones and hypersonic missiles, three smaller vessels might be preferable to one big one.
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@Mallard143 @TBrit90 Think id we matched threat we’d need 5+ available at all times especially considering escorts for CSGs & in future escorts/support of MRSD groups. I know currently no money but conversation should be had of what number of what ships we need & then we can compare to show gaps
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Thats a month out on TAPS, and about 3 months in total on duty. Likely due to be replaced in the near future.
Of the 5 other ASW frigates, you have Richmond retiring and possibly not operational again this year, Kent in refit, Sutherland on forever trials, Portland in maint and Somerset training.
So 1 likely, maybe 2 frigates able to replace, and no spare for anywhere else.
Navy Lookout@NavyLookout
.@HMSStAlbans inbound on the Clyde this morning. Via @SheilaLWeir
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