The HMS Queen Elizabeth, floating for the first time in 2014 at the drydock in Rosyth near Edinburgh. Wikipedia
David Axe, Reuters: What the U.S. should learn from Britain’s dying navy
Britain used to boast the most powerful navy in the world. No more.
That’s a serious problem for allies like the United States.
Traditionally, Britain’s Royal Navy has been the U.S. Navy's closest partner. The two have fought together against most every foe. So any weakening of the Royal Navy also erodes Washington's naval power.
Today, however, the Royal Navy is a shadow of its former self. Government budgeteers have repeatedly, and excessively, cut the numbers of its ships, planes and manpower. It can barely patrol the United Kingdom’s own waters, much less project British influence abroad.
Though London officials now vow to reverse the decline, it might be too late. With morale plummeting, and its few remaining ships frequently malfunctioning at sea, the Royal Navy’s suffering might be terminal.
The timing couldn’t be worse. The West is mobilizing to defeat Islamic State, deter an increasingly aggressive Russia and manage China's meteoric rise as a world power. The British fleet's collapse is an object lesson for cash-strapped governments struggling to balance competing budgetary needs in a seemingly ever more volatile world.
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WNU Editor: The demise of the British Navy reminds me of the demise of the Soviet Army. At its peak both were a formidable force .... now one is a shell of its former self, and the Soviet Army is no more.
2 comments:
HMRN budgets are €5 billion higher than the 1950's and have within stayed within 0.25% of the same percentage of British GDP.
Fleet numbers are falling because:
A) for the cost of 1 F-35B, you could buy a wing of Harriers.
B) for the cost of one Darling Class Destroyer, you can build and operate 4 Sheffield Class Destroyers,
C) building state of the art gold plated Aircraft Carriers for a Navy with out fighter jets is pretty dumb.
Given the ludicrous profits of the Defence Industries, the obscene Executive Compensation, and the inflationary price tags of all the "Toys", for a country like Britain, to try to "stand up" a Cold War Military, like they had in the late '60's, would require 228% of the entire British Government Budget.
You could always retro fit other sea vessels for warfare.
If dragged into a REAL war we always have nuclear global strike capabilities.
Go back to ww2 where a ship's biggest threat was aircraft, well 70 years later you can take out the most advanced aircraft carriers from your own backyard using hypersonic missiles. Naval power is redundant, it's even debatable if its submarines are worth keeping. So it's no surprise numbers are falling, i just hope they invest the money they get wisly in national research facilities to build quality british ships and not outsource national pride for foreign profit.
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