I think that the navy can allow itself at the most to:
– Phase out earlier two Trafalgars in order to ensure that 7 Astutes survive.
– Hand Marines to the army, but retain the amphibious ships, so that UK continues to have credible power projection capability. It has been suggested that the UK’s capability in operations abroad will go down from the current “One Division” possibly to as little as “One Brigade”. The Commando Brigade should all but be reinforced and kept in great, great consideration, in this scenario.
Because for sure the UK can’t realistically hope to deploy the 7th Armored in decent times in an hostile country. There’s no way to do that without a friendly port where to disembark vehicles from ships. SHIPS, not planes, notice. Because that’s how tanks move in the real world. Moving a brigade of Challengers with C17 is a ILLUSION.
– 8 Sandown minesweepers. NATO is full to burst with minesweepers. The RN can do with just the Hunt. Besides, if in the future the RN is expected to operate just 8 C3 for survey, minesweeping and patrol, it will be merely a move to experience what the (dark) future will be like. (pardon my bitterness…)
– Possibly retire earlier a few more Type 42. With the Sea Viper finally succesfull in all expected environments at the test fire, and with the Type 45 coming into service, the RN could take this risk and have a small period of time in which this role is less covered.
– Type 22 B3 should be retained, but if truly it can’t be avoided, they are sacrificable.

But the carriers, Astute and amphibis must be protected at all costs, because they are the future of the service and of the UK’s relevance and security.

Personally, I think the choice for the RN (if ultimately its their decision) is going to be this – you can either have carrier strike with both carriers and a limited amphibious capability or no carriers but lots of amphibious kit but you can’t have both.

The RN has already sold the family jewellery to get the CVF, if it has to it’ll sell the silver service too and throw in Grandma for good measure.

If it’s out of their hands and they are shelved regardless, are we expecting resignations? Got to be hard to take for any 1SL to see the Navy cease to be a blue water force. Jacky Fisher resigning would have caused an earthquake in Britain. Mark Stanhope, would anyone care?

Take this with a pinch of salt due to the source , and indeed it may not say anything new but this thread and the one over in Modern Military Aviation on the F35b being replaced by the Super Hornet may be academic:
http://www.metro.co.uk/news/838576-budget-cuts-could-sink-new-aircraft-carriers

See the defence review thread, this report is mentioned there.

It’s a throw away piece that basically says everything is on the table in the SDR apart from Trident and the UK may end up with one,two or no carriers.

In other news, Elvis is dead and the USSR has crumbled :rolleyes:

SDR – Navy discussion
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mY-JaZH_03U

If for some reason PoW is cancelled, I wouldn’t be adverse to buying one/two of these somewhere down the line.

More SDR leaks in the Sunday Times

“The Parachute Regiment is to have its wings clipped as part of a sweeping package of defence cuts that will mean only a tiny fraction of its troops are trained to jump into battle.
The elite regiment’s three battalions, plus support troops from the Royal Engineers and the Royal Artillery — a total of about 2,500 men — are now trained to jump.
However, a lack of RAF Hercules transport aircraft, also a potential target of the cuts, means that in future only 120 men will be trained to jump, senior defence sources said last week.

The rest of the paras will continue to fight as ordinary infantry.
“There simply isn’t the capability to mount battlegroup operations in which we were able to drop 900 paratroopers and their kit,” a senior source said. “Afghanistan has stretched our resources and there is very little parachuting taking place.”
The regiment revels in its elite image, fostered by distinctive red berets and the wings the paras qualify to wear when they learn how to jump.
They must make eight jumps to qualify, the last two in full combat kit, followed by eight-mile runs known as Tabs, or tactical advances to battle.

Before the war in Afghanistan, the regiment’s main role was to provide the airborne taskforce with up to 1,800 men who could mount an airborne landing anywhere in the world.
However, lack of aircraft and men has seen the force whittled down to a small-scale contingency unit of just 120 troops. This is all that is likely to survive.
Senior officers in the regiment are lobbying hard to prevent the cuts, but critics point out that British paratroopers have not jumped into battle since the occupation of the Suez canal in 1956.

One senior officer said: “The Americans recognise the importance of airborne forces both to deliver military effect and as a psychological tool. If we work with them we need to retain the capability.”
The changes are part of the deep cuts being drawn up for the government’s strategic defence and security review.

The Royal Marines are set to be placed in effect under the army’s command and paired with the Parachute Regiment in an elite organisation that will be able to move troops rapidly anywhere in the world.
The marines will continue to maintain an amphibious capability but both they and the paras, who already work together to support special forces operations, will mount most attacks from the air by helicopter.
Liam Fox, the defence secretary, gave the first details last week of a radical reorganisation of the Ministry of Defence that will see power taken away from civil servants and given to a small number of admirals, generals and air marshals.

Sharp reductions in senior officers in all three services are likely.
The RAF stands to lose all its 130 Tornado jets as well as the new Nimrod MRA4 spy plane. The Royal Navy will lose its base at Plymouth, effective control of the Royal Marines and its two assault ships, HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark.
The army will lose at least one of its two armoured brigades, with many soldiers given new roles. The Ministry of Defence declined to comment.”

Sea King is perfectly fine in ASR and Mountain Rescue with an overhaul (new cockpit, engines, drive train and Carson blades – all available off the shelf via Carson Helicopters). When they finally do wear out then a follow on Merlin order is the order of the day.

Ditching the Sikorsky PFI and overhauling the SeaKings is a no brainer, which knowing the MoD means we’ll do the opposite.

My current bets are on the MoD funding Trident replacement but getting a better budget settlement closer to 10%

Interesting, not all of the scenarios outlined below would be a total disaster

A secret internal Ministry of Defence memo sets out demands for £3.96bn savings across the rotary wing fleets operated by the Royal Navy, army and RAF, the London Evening Standard said.

Options outlined in the document include scrapping the £1.7bn fleet of 62 new Lynx Wildcats for the aavy and army, phasing out the navy and RAF’s Sea Kings and the “deletion” of the RAF’s Puma helicopter, the paper reported. Other scenarios could see numbers of Chinooks, Merlins or Apaches reduced.

Probably another case of a newspaper listing all options in one go, for instance dumping the SeaKings would see the Sikorsky PFI deal go ahead.

An on-topic post!

Construction video of the diesel generators being installed at Portsmouth

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6JBFhJkSjo