The Royal Navy On Guard
The Telegraph reports on the latest “deployment” of the Royal Navy.
The frigate HMS Northumberland, which is armed with guided missiles, torpedoes and a Lynx helicopter, was due to be sent on patrol to the islands this month. But it will now be replaced by a Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) vessel not equipped for offensive combat operations.
The controversial decision was forced on senior naval commanders by the increasing problem of overstretch facing the Royal Navy.
Cuts to the size of the fleet over the last 10-years – the Royal Navy has just 22 frigates and destroyers compared to 65 in 1982 – has left the service with too few ships to meet its responsibilities.
The Telegraph also understands that the Royal Navy is likely to face more cuts in the near future while major projects such as the £3.9bn new carrier programme could be delayed. Ageing vessels such as Type 23 frigates, which were commissioned in the late 1980s, will have their service life extended by up to 20-years.
The last time the British government reduced its naval presence in the South Atlantic was in 1982 when the ice patrol vessel HMS Endurance was withdrawn from patrolling the area around the Falkland Islands. The move prompted an invasion by the Argentine military and led to the Falklands War.
As they report, the Royal Navy is capable of deploying a grand total of seven frigates or destroyers at any one time. We have managed to obtain a photo of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary that will be deployed instead of HMS Northumberland, a feat we hope our readers appreciate. Behold, the mighty RFA Drake:
Obviously not named after Sir Francis…..
Bad Ideas, World news | Gaius December 6, 2008
By Anthony (Los Angeles), December 6, 2008 @ 7:18 pm
It’s sad the state to which Whitehall has let the RN fall, but I would so love to see the looks on the pirates’ faces when that duck came after them. It would quack me up.
By Mwalimu Daudi, December 6, 2008 @ 7:54 pm
You are wrong. The one in the picture is the RFA Tweety Bird, which replaced the now-decommissioned RFA Rubber-Ducky. The color is the key.
While we are on the subject, the RFA Donald and the RFA Daffy have similar lines, although the Donald is white and the Daffy is black.
By Gaius, December 6, 2008 @ 8:08 pm
I’ll have to upbraid Jane’s Fighting Ducks of the World, then. That’s where I got the pic. Honest.
By feeblemind, December 6, 2008 @ 11:54 pm
100 years ago, the UK’s policy was to keep their fleet 10% larger than the next two largest fleets combined. One wonders how Jackie Fisher would react to the size of the Royal Navy today?
By Brad Ackerman, December 8, 2008 @ 4:22 am
Er, technically, if that’s the giant Rubber Ducky of Doom™ that I think it is, it’s French.