Quote Originally Posted by GeeRam View Post
We managed for nearly a decade with just the one carrier after Eagle was decommisioned.
And the Frenchicon are managing it as well with just one, and doing cat n trap as well, and they developed their own fighter to fly off of it...! and that's why I think we've missed a trick by jumping into bed with the USMC rather than shared carrier support with an European ally.
Are we really going to do USMC style expedition warfare?



We are never going to buy V22 for the UKicon........have you seen the costs of those things......!
The cost per per flying hour is even more than a F-22 Raptor.....!!
Only stuff like the C5 Galaxy, B52, B1B etc cost more per flying hour than a V22...!!
Well yes, just my rose tinted glasses version of what's possible if properly funded...

You can't really compare the fleet air arm of the 1970's with today, they spent the last 10 years of fast jet carriers operations with the best of the best, the stripped out core of the Fleet air arms finest, supported by excellent pilots on secondment from the RAF.

The French, I hear fro friends, are struggling to maintain carrier aviation with high turn over of pilots, condensed into a small corps of carrier qualified personnel.

Just my opinion, but it's not a good fit for a small Navy.

If the government want properly funded Carrier Strike, then something else will have to go to free up funding and personnel, Royal Marines full spectrum capability (Albion and Bulwark specifically), with a reduction to a dedicated raiding force and Special forces support.

Then we have Dreadnought coming along sucking up the funds too with each passing year....

Something has to give!