Ed 🇪🇺🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇬🇧

Husband & father. Interested in law, military history, IT, reading, aerospace, politics, sci-fi

[Ed 🇪🇺🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇬🇧 @S84Ed]

@PeterEl24449654 @FTusa284 To be fair, with the exception of the corps part they’re at least being worked on. Obviously a ton of work to do, but dry docks, upgraded T45s and the new T26/31s are coming (slowly). AEW is proving painfully slow, considering it was sold as being a “proven” in service design…

[Ed 🇪🇺🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇬🇧 @S84Ed]

@FennellJW Might be better off looking at a carrier capable UCAV ASAP. A UCAV should be able to carry a couple of Meteor/AMRAAMs and have an endurance of 12+ hours. A dozen of them on deck would allow a couple in the air 24/7 for several days.

[Ed 🇪🇺🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇬🇧 @S84Ed]

@FTusa284 @Thomas977673521 @combat_boot I’d like to see something like the Moog turret for M230/AEI Venom and LMM/HVM on a cheap 4x4 type, together with a Sky Ranger with proper 30x173 on Boxer/Patria 6x6 for heavier units.

[Ed 🇪🇺🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇬🇧 @S84Ed]

@FTusa284 @Thomas977673521 @combat_boot I’m less convinced by 20mm, which is too small to use advanced fusing, requiring direct hits. Take a look at the South Korean video of their M167 Vulcans trying to hit the drone swarm (without too much luck). At least 30x113 can now use air burst ammo, even if low(ish) velocity.

[Ed 🇪🇺🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇬🇧 @S84Ed]

@Anglo_Japan45 I would argue that the “sink or swim” approach of the last three or four decades has been nothing short of a disaster for UK industry, especially the defence industry. We should perhaps be more like France, Italy and others, even if it’s not always the cheapest short term…

[Ed 🇪🇺🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇬🇧 @S84Ed]

@FennellJW I think it’s worth having a dedicated CAMM launcher, which could readily fit inside a 20ft container footprint, as well as a true containerised VLS like these. A lot of smaller ships would benefit from having a small CAMM launcher as an option.

[Ed 🇪🇺🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇬🇧 @S84Ed]

@FennellJW My hope is they just go with the Babcock Land Cruiser option quickly, possibly supplemented by a Supacat based type for slightly heavier roles (eg replacing Pinzgauer 6x6 and Duro). For the protected role, my hope would be for either Dingo 2 or Bushmaster/Hawkei.

[Ed 🇪🇺🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇬🇧 @S84Ed]

@FennellJW I’m not against unmanned assets at all, I just think that large unmanned assets are very vulnerable. An 80m long high end USV isn’t going to be dramatically cheaper than an equivalent size of manned vessel. An OPV with sonar is a sensor node, it doesn’t need to be a frigate.

[Ed 🇪🇺🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇬🇧 @S84Ed]

@FennellJW Mass production of any missile requires very large orders. Anything less than several hundred a year essentially means expensive and hand assembled. So unless we can re-use parts of CAMM, and order thousands, the price will remain stubbornly high.

[Ed 🇪🇺🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇬🇧 @S84Ed]

@Thomas977673521 @combat_boot @FTusa284 The most viable 76mm option would be the Leonardo Hystrix 76, which is essentially the Sovraponte naval turret on a trailer. It would be viable for static locations, but it’s not a particularly mobile system. For that, a 30mm & LMM/HVM is more practical.

[Ed 🇪🇺🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇬🇧 @S84Ed]

@FennellJW I would prefer to see a multi-role OPV, like the French Patrouilleurs Hauturiers, which has hull mounted sonar and can take CAPTAS. Simply switch the CT40 gun to a Mk4 40mm and a few minor changes. Replace the Rivers & ease the load on the escort fleet.

[Ed 🇪🇺🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇬🇧 @S84Ed]

@FennellJW I’m less than convinced that a purely uncrewed design is survivable - not just for damage control and basic maintenance, but also the willingness of hostiles to target uncrewed assets. Ramming or even bombing a drone is much lower risk than hitting a crewed one.

[Ed 🇪🇺🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇬🇧 @S84Ed]

@Thomas977673521 @combat_boot @FTusa284 A 40mm Bofors firing 3P rounds would be more practical, and can be carried on a truck (or on a DROPS/PLS pallet), without needing an MBT chassis. We should be leaning heavily on 30mm & 40mm for drone defence, for all the services.

[Ed 🇪🇺🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇬🇧 @S84Ed]

@NavyLookout Obviously they’d not be warships, but nor was Argus, or indeed the Bay class. They’d not have flood-able docks, but they could have the steel beach & Mexeflote option for unloading, and carry BMT’s LCMs on davits. Best of all, they’d be far cheaper than the unaffordable MRSS.

[Ed 🇪🇺🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇬🇧 @S84Ed]

@NavyLookout I would argue that even getting a modified RoRo design (eg the US’ MV Ocean Trader) might have made sense. It could easily carry a decent air wing, but also have plenty of space for other roles, eg HADR, aviation training etc, and still embark a good few landing craft on davits.

[Ed 🇪🇺🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇬🇧 @S84Ed]

@NavyLookout As for the CCV, if it’s essentially just an Arrowhead A140/160, then it’s potentially not a bad thing, being able to share the T31 production lines, but carrying a decent AAW radar. Yes, a true purpose built AAW destroyer might be better, but only if we can afford enough…

[Ed 🇪🇺🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇬🇧 @S84Ed]

@NavyLookout It strikes me that the Type 9x LUSV is a rehashing of the Black Swan of a decade ago, but far more reliant upon untested technologies. We might be better off just buying lean-crewed OPVs like the new Norwegian ones, fitted for containerised systems (CAPTAS, missiles etc)…

[Ed 🇪🇺🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇬🇧 @S84Ed]

@nicholadrummond With Ajax limping on, a tracked IFV was a non-starter unfortunately. As for ditching the T83 in favour of an Arrowhead based design, I think it’s potentially not a bad thing, especially if it’s got a good enough radar (preferably off the shelf)…

[Ed 🇪🇺🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇬🇧 @S84Ed]

@Anglo_Japan45 @FennellJW The Black Swan was about the right size, ie 80–100m, and a lean crew, relying on containerised weapons etc… They’d be big enough to carry an NS110 radar or equivalent. You could then use them to replace the River B1 & 2 in due course, and potentially provide MCM too…

[Ed 🇪🇺🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇬🇧 @S84Ed]

@Anglo_Japan45 @FennellJW I do think we need to invest in smaller warships to rebuild fleet numbers, and I don’t necessarily think the scrapping of T83 is a bad move per se. I don’t think they should be true USVs though, but rather a dusting off of the “Black Swan” proposed a decade ago.