Supposedly to reduce wind turbulance across the deck by having two small islands rather than one big one. But I reckon its really so the saintly RN Matelots don’t have to work in the same place as the poncy fly boys who will sit in the aft island and whom can therefore be completely ignored most of the time until something really important comes up :diablo: 😀

I really do hope that someone has considered the Psychology of such an arrangement rather than just the engineering reasons.

The CVF will have a lot more exhaust and air feed trunking etc than a nuke carrier and that is usually routed up through the Islands so they tend to be slightly bigger Islands than the CVN’s, hence the need to make them smaller where possible.

Yep, I agree, maybe I should have said “a single” Nimrod can fly anywhere to where a carrier group might operate……. as putting up two might be a problem :diablo:

Its strange though that the RAF haven’t removed that old strategy page from their website, it threw me because it generated todays date at the top left corner, so I thought it was current, my apologies :confused:

Any other photos out there ?

I think part of the equation that the UK politicos in authority have allowed for, is the near certainty of E3’s being available in perhaps 60% of the world which would assist any Harriers significantly in any air defence role. Its still a risky strategy though and not necessarily one that I would agree with but there are few A2A combat ‘opportunities’ on the horizon as they see it :diablo: 😀

Thanks Sealord, that was news to me.

I guess they had to do something, the amount of criticism they have been getting for the airframe shortage :rolleyes:

Clearly the Danes have been very amenable. I wonder what the details of the deal are that has persuaded them ?

Will the Brits be setting up an assembly line so some F-35 are European produced or will they be happy with just the sub assembly work ?

Incidentally if you look in the minutes of the UK parliament one of the defence ministers said a couple of weeks ago in a parliamentary answer that it is kinda now F35 or nothing as any plan B has effectively been put aside.

Adam Ingram, Minister of state for Defence, said in Parliament a week or so ago that it was progressing and that it was “undergoing its final procurement analysis”, whatever that means ……….. :confused: