David Cameron ‘rules out slash and burn defence cuts’
Robert Fox and Martin Bentham
08.10.10

David Cameron has intervened to prevent “slash and burn” cuts to the Armed Forces after holding a private meeting with defence chiefs

“…Plans to use vertical take-off aircraft on the carriers have been abandoned, however, and cheaper jets that take off and land by using a catapult and wire will be used instead. The second carrier might also be converted from its conventional use to operate as a “floating platform” for commandos.

The Navy is also expected to be allowed to buy new frigates for 2020, and the Royal Marines will be retained instead of being merged with the Army’s Paratroop Regiment, as some reports had suggested. However, the helicopter budget is expected to be reduced by as much as £1 billion. Ministers are expected to insist that this will not affect operations in Afghanistan.

…The plan now is to have a rolling review looking at all aspects of defence management, the armed forces, and equipment procurement, over the next two years or so. There will have to be some cuts, though nothing on the scale previously suggested. One of the target areas is the helicopter budget. The number of machines will be reduced. The Trident replacement will be delayed by a year or two, but will go ahead in one form or another — as will the aircraft carrier programme, though with a different variant of the Lockheed Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter….”

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23886028-david-cameron-rules-out-slash-and-burn-defence-cuts.do

Well if this does happen then its more likely that PoW will be fitted with catapult and wires rather then QE.

Changing QE now whilst she is in build would add cost, using PoW would also push the material purchase of the aircraft as far as possible to the right and dovetail in with the retirement of Ocean without replacement. Pretty much as Beedle suggested on his website.

The navy can then wait for better days to allow QE’s conversion to CATOBAR configuration.

I would also expect significant cross decking with the French navy in this event to allow currency to be maintained if PoW or CdG (or her replacement) are in for overhaul.

Lockheed flies India’s first C-130J

India’s first US-built military transport has made its debut flight, with the Lockheed Martin C-130J having taken to the air from Marietta, Georgia on 4 October.

The first of six stretched-fuselage Hercules on order for the Indian air force, aircraft KC-3801 will be followed by two more examples getting airborne “within the next few weeks”, Lockheed says.
Full Story

I must admit I am looking forward to seeing the curious sight of an IL78 refueling a C130J.

But I suspect a large chunk of RN and others Navies hangars (e.g. Type 22) wouldn’t be able to accomodate the AW149, barring some export options.

Hanger on the Type 22 is big enough for one AW149 maybe even two.

That Eurocopter thing is just a mess. They can’t be serious about it.

— Those two props make passenger ingress/egress dangerous and/or time consuming.
— They block a door gun.
— They limit weapons carry ability on those stubby wings and I bet they induce nice vibrations.
— How would they shield the fuselage from darting prop blades in case of damage? Or from ice flying off?
— Makes one hell of a radar reflector.
— Props next to your window is extremly loud.
— It’s a pain when landing on slopes.

It’s a me-too plastic monster. Hide it in the hangar you cobbled it together!

The Sikorsky X2 is by far better thought-out and could be a real competitior to the VTOL-challenged tiltprops. That Europcopter X3 – never.

I think your being slightly unfair, its a concept demonstrator in the end.

Its certainly an interesting area of investigation and if anybody hasn’t noticed already its very similar in concept to the Fairey Rotodyne without the tip jets.

I can easily see it scaled up to V22 or large scale with a troop layout and rear ramp.

More from the media today, on TV Cameron mentioned the carriers saying that one of them was at an advanced stage of being built and said that the previous government hadn’t even decided what type of aircraft to put on them. He mentioned the RN still needed to consider piracy in the Gulf and drug running in the caribbean.

A brief synopsis of the Sunday Times (incase I get scolded by a mod again! 😉 )

* Military planners are urging the PM to scrap at least 1 of the 2 carriers.

* It turns out Liam Fox may be against the carriers after all, as the missing part of one of the leaked letters suggests Fox had said the weight of military opinion was that the carriers were too expensive and would distort Britain’s strategic interests.

*At the NSC meeting last Thursday the options on the table were to build both carriers, scrap both or take one and place it into “extended readiness”

Frankly I feel numb despair now, after watching the Labour government spend over a decade running Britians armed forces into the ground we are now watching a sea blind Tory Prime Minister obsessed with Afghanistan hell bent on destroying Britains expeditionary warfare capability and Shipbuilding.

@Swerve

The ideal mix for exports is the ability to fit pretty much anything the customer wants, be it Aster 15/Sylver or ESSM/Mk41.

Which is why the Germans have done so well selling the MEKO class around the world.

Frankly when the UK was designing the Type 23 whilst the weapons fit should of been pretty much the same it should of been installed in much the same way as the MEKO class with removable modules. It would of made Type 23 a far more attractive export prospect.

In what way does the UK have nothing?

It is taking delivery of Nimrod MRA4 that has cost billions.

Also P3C would be regarded as a significant drop in capability.

Nimrod can fly further and faster which is regarded as an important capability for the UK.

Type “Basra”, “Humiliation” and “British Army” into a search engine and I think you will find why I have such disdain for the senior brass of the Army.

Happy to play up the whole berets and sweets, hearts and minds concept. Happy to play up their knowledge of Counter Insurgency gleaned over the years but not backed up by reality on the ground.

Even after the UK pulled out of Basra you had senior British officers lecturing senior American officers about how useful the experience of Ulster peace keeping was. It should be noted the American officers would generally roll their eyes and byte their tongues! Ulster is not Iraq and Afghanistan…

Their recent behaviour in relation to the defence review only confirms my opinion of them.

Now don’t get me wrong the guys on the ground, Junior to Middle officers are solid gold but the senior brass are a shower more interested in bragging about percieved abilities and perpetuating war against the other services.