The U.S. Coast Guard largest ships in the past, including the fairly recently retired ice breakers, were capable of carrying .5 inch guns and other heavy armament if a conflict arose.

The last icebreakers, which were ever armed with 12,7 cm (5″) guns, were USCGC Glacier, USCGC Westwind, and USCGC Northwind, which were decommissioned in 1987, 1988 and 1989, respectively. Not really recent 😉

@ Glendora:
is it now sure that 10 FREMM class frigates will be built? The last statement I had read was only 6.

These second line ships are heavily armed compared to the Soldati, Minerva, and Cassiopea classes.

Nice photo!

In 1/700 there are kits for Vikramditya (HobbyBoss) and Viraat (Orange Hobby), but unfortunately not yet for Teg (Talwar class) and Mumbai (Delhi class).

I guess they do not talk about a Project 705K, but probably about another Project 671?

Is there any Russian class of submarines, the Russians call “Alfa”? E.g. the NATO Alfa class is Lira, Akula is Schtschuka-B and Oscar is Granit..

Why is a project 22350 more stealthy compared to MEKO A-200SAN? Or e.g. a British Type 45?

You mean plans for their future or Blue Prints? I didn`t understand your question, leon… 🙂

I was asking for blueprints – to use it to build ship models of them.

Of many research ships plans are available on-line, e.g. of German and US American ships.

E.g. R/V Knorr:
http://www.whoi.edu/main/ships/knorr/layout-berthing-diagrams

Maria S. Merian (pdf files):
http://www.maria-s-merian.de/index.php?id=34
http://www.maria-s-merian.de/index.php?id=33

Polarstern (pdf file):
http://www.awi.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Research/Research_Divisions/Climate_Sciences/chiaventone/Polarstern/Handbuchweb.pdf

the one thing Japan messed up on with its conquest of China is that they didn’t conquer more or hold on to it long enough.
Had they done so, the Chinese would’ve considered the Japanese rule as a new dynasty and accepted it as a mandate of heaven as they do with all the other foreign conquerors.

China was at that time no monarchy anymore – 1912 a republic was proclaimed. It is very unlikely that Japanese rule would have been accepted, if they would have conquered even more.

That government pour money into social security!? You are sure that we are talking about the British government in July 2013!?

I guess that you have not realised that many western governments have the main goal to reduce taxes and spending of the state. And that results in less money available for the military – and for many other purposes INCLUDING social security.