So what do people think?

Contracts notwithstanding…. is 2 CVF worth halving the surface fleet & cutting all amphibs?

This is probably the last chance for the RN in most of our lifetimes to secure anything the size of 65k tons. Considering that the RN has sacrificed so much already and Whitehall voices are still getting in Camerons ears about the carriers it can’t be long before the RN start dipping into T45’s as the next most saleable asset (even if sold at less than cost price)

Given yesterdays leaks it might be neither but end up Dave ‘A’ instead!

Not looking good for CVF, doesn’t appear to have the backing of the PM

Plans to build two large aircraft carriers for the navy at a cost of at least £5bn are in jeopardy tonight, Whitehall officials said, after a meeting of the National Security Council chaired by David Cameron.

The navy is pressing for the carriers, which would be equipped with US planes costing at least £100m each, in a package which could cost £15bn.

Cameron questioned claims by navy chiefs and the shipbuilders that cancelling the contracts would only save £1bn, according to officials.

Under existing plans, the navy will also be equipped with new frigates and destroyers. One well-placed official last night said the whole question of which ships the navy will get, and how many, was now “up in the air”.

The dispute has pitched Cameron against Liam Fox, the defence secretary and supporter of the navy who is at loggerheads with George Osborne over who will pay for a new Trident nuclear missile system. The chancellor says the initial estimated £20bn cost of renewing Trident should come out of the core defence budget. Fox says it should be paid for by a special supplementary budget.

Well, this is pretty hard hitting stuff in the Telegraph
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/defence/8031383/Liam-Fox-defence-cuts-will-have-grave-consequences.html

No doubt a leak from Fox’s office but good on him says I, at least if he won’t have a job for much longer he has principles!

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Defence secretaries letter to the PM in full
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/defence/8031385/Defence-cuts-Liam-Foxs-leaked-letter-in-full.html

And so the show goes on…

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Didn’t particularly like Hagues comments yesterday!

William Hague, the Foreign Secretary and a member of the NSC, yesterday said that some programmes will be have to scrapped.

“There are ships and aircraft about to be built or bought for which the money does not exist or never existed actually,” he said on a visit to the US.

I would like to see the so called C3 programme actually begun in the timeframe of the SDSR as I see the need for a multirole patrol vessel for the RN higher than the T-26. I would prefer the RN to seek a OTS solution to this requirement as there are many platforms available that would meet the requirements of the RN with minimum alteration. The most complicated capabilty need, MCM can be left as the MCMVs still in service can cover this role, but the C3 must be able to adopt this role whether it is built fitted for but not with or plug and play. I think we need ot see the C3 as a “Colonial Gunboat” with a helicopter with a medium multipurpose gun and passive defence systems as its basic configuration. Its prime offensive tool will be the on board helicopter, equipped wiht the follow on the Sea Skua amongst other hardware. It would be nice to beef up its defensive capabilites when required especially its AD but these are all within a cost/benefit equation and should not impact on the inital programmes costs or the numbers.

To be honest that sounds way beyond the capabilities envisaged for C3 – they may as well rip up FSC and start again post SDSR!