Why do you have LPDs & LSDs in a carrier strike group? Surely, they’re only needed if you’re intending to carry out an amphibious assault.

You should also have some replenishment ships.

I’d also wonder about the patrol ships.

Isn’t that just a Venator? Looks like it’s borrowed quite heavily from it, especially the rear end and telescopic hanger.

If not this, a switch to a fleet of aircraft common to the RAF and FAA (F-35C or its successors) could save money in the future and improve inter-interoperability.

That would require scrapping the entire Typhoon force, chucking £20bn in the bin and spending more just for the sake of commonality doesn’t sound like a good way of saving money to me.

The leaks and rumours coming out of the SDR have all, without exception, been in favour of a cheaper Aircraft than STOVL F35 B and in favour of CATOBAR.

If I was a betting man I would say 50-80 F35 C is what UK will end up with.

F35C is not cheaper than F35b, all the official estimates state it will be the same price.

Yes, the idea that we’d change the plan to buy a number of one aircraft type into 2 split buys along with the cost of the logistic chains for both is a complete non-starter.

Though if the UK started with C2 the pen-pushers might decide that “it’s not so bad, so why build C1?” and that would be the best the RN gets.

I have a feeling that the RN wants C1 because it’s worried it will otherwise be forced to take a lot of average hulls and have no ships suitable for “high threat environments”

I strongly suspect this is the reason why in all military purchases where there is a low end and high end platform the high end one always seems to get built first; e.e. F15 and F16, F22 and F35, etc.

I’d agree that the C2 requirement does seem the more pressing right now.

How do people here interpret David Cameron’s comments on this morning’s Andrew Marr show that the last Government hadn’t decided what type of aircraft would fly from the CVFs, especially in the context of this thread and its predecessor’s topic?

It means the final decision hasn’t been taken, which we all know about, we also all know that it in all certainty is will be F35b, because that is the aircraft the carriers have been designed around, and the 3 development airframes are already being purchased. Basically it means nothing more than political point scoring against the previous Government, other than that, nothing new.

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)

Yes, without capital ships there’s little point in having Frigates and Destroyers for the RN, might as well replace them with OPVs, leave the submarine service to go sub hunting. Besides as the opponents to CVF keep telling us we’re unlikely to go to a major war unless as part of a coalition, well most of our allies have lots of escorts to offer, other than the USA and the single carriers from France and Italy there’s not much in the way of carriers on offer.