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The Royal Navy's newest aircraft carriers illustrate the sad state of that navy. The French under the Bourbons and Bonaparte couldn't destroy the RN, neither could the Germans in two World Wars, sadly, all it took was bad government at home.
A cautionary tale ...
They weren't ordered to be effective they were ordered to fortify Gordon Brown, the PM of the time, in his parliamentary constituency.
ReplyDeleteIt was, I suppose, a sort of dead sailors vs votes trade-off.
Spot on!
DeleteAn eye-opening video Sarge and several generations of British pols plus admirals share the blame.
ReplyDeleteBear in mind, we live in a glass house. So we should be careful about throwing stones!
DeleteTheir government is good at destroying more than just the RN!
ReplyDeleteEurope seems to have a death wish.
DeleteSince the loss of the Bonny Dick (USS Bonhomme Richard) we're short a few helo flight decks. Maybe take them as prizes. It's not like there's anything out there in Brit Land that can defend them.
ReplyDeleteTrue dat.
DeleteThe Royal Navy asking the French for ships so they can go to sea. WTH! Get HMS BELFAST {Europe's Last Big Gun Warship} out of London and refitted.. As it looks like the new class of frigates won't launch anytime soon. HMS Glasgow has been stopped cold by sabotage, 60 cables cut. And the 'new' Belfast (a frigate, not a cruiser) is slow walking construction for lack of funds.
ReplyDeleteI'm beginning to wonder if there is any hope for the UK at all.
DeleteArthur.
DeleteIf only ...
DeleteMaybe if they beat Drake's Drum?
DeleteDesperate times ...
DeleteA decade ago the RN was in rapid decline, and we see how that story ended. Not well at all.
ReplyDeleteThe USN has been in a parallel decline in numbers and capabilities, with much time and treasure irrevocably duped into the LCS program, and the aborted FF Constellation fiasco. So, our escort capabilities for our nominal ten carrier battlegrouops are mostly fantasy even today.
True, we are kicking Iranian butts, but at the cost of running our fleet into the ground with incessant use and little time or support to restore to full mission capability. That degrades both gear and our crews. That also hurts retention and recruiting, which increases training shortages and manning shortfalls.
Our formerly formidable carrier air wings with diverse capabilities (F-14 long range air defense, A-6 long range attack, F/A-18 medium range, S-3 ASW, E-2 or AWACS surveillance) have atrophied to several bug species and some F-35Bs which are terribly expensive and unimpressive, plus some good old E-2s.
The RN experience should be seen as a cautionary "Christmas future" for the USN. As with the RN, the USN's decline is not the fault of the crews, but rather of clueless politicians and top leaders. Trump and Hegseth are more of a cure to the problem than a cause, despite what some might erroneously believe. In order to build the essential defense forces we require, we must solve the problem of being $30+ trillion in debt. That requires massive spending cuts, including to the beloved handouts and freebies politicians use to get reelected. If the debt problem is not solved, there will be no need for China to defeat us in a war, they can just pick up the shattered remains of our once great nation at their leisure.
We need someone with the fearless economic restructuring of Argentina's Milei or Florida's Ron DeSantis.
We still have more Admirals than ships. Cut the bloat.
John Blackshoe
Amen!
DeleteI don’t know if it’s that Algy Rhythm chap or an old fashioned spy, but I just posted that video meself. Best check my password ( If I add 678 to my 12345 will that bolster up my security? - asking for our Secretary of State for Defence*) ( from the speling, you’ll guess I’m not American)
ReplyDeleteHogday
Perhaps it's a case of great minds think alike?
DeleteI’ll take that! 😜
ReplyDeleteBut of course!
Delete