@TBrit90 The value may not be Fort Vic as a platform, it may be Fort Vic as a bridge. If she helps regenerate RFA SQEP, procedures and experience ahead of FSS, then the return on investment is broader than simply how long she remains in service. You cannot regenerate a skill once lost.
@NickStanley3 Anyone who has been involved in regenerating warships will understand the frustration when the effort invested does not appear to translate into the service life originally expected. That feeling comes from professional pride in the work sailors put in, rather than bitterness.
@NickStanley3 Having just regenerated a LIFEX T23, it’s hard not to reflect on the scale of effort required to sustain ageing platforms. Publicly reported changes to T23 out-of-service dates show just how challenging it is to balance regeneration, capability and future fleet transition.
WEAPON CHARGE QUALIFICATION SUCCESS
Congratulations to Deputy Weapon Engineer Officer - Lt Shaun Cockram who recently celebrated success during his WCQ board. This board represents a key milestone in the career of all Weapon Engineers in the @RoyalNavy. BZ Shaun! ⚓️
@Gabriel64869839 I'm just not sure there is a threat environment that would require a sabot round at all now. All the modern threats do not present as heavily armoured targets. The only possible upgrade to PELE would be a programmable frag round.
@Gabriel64869839 I guess the most ideal round in the future would be a programmable HE-frag airburst for the use against FIAC and Drones... just wait until T31 :)
@Gabriel64869839 It's perfect for use in the FAC / FIAC role, unlike it's predecessor. FMPDS was a Sabot designed purely to penetrate, which made it largely ineffective against anything without armour as it would pass straight through, unless you were lucky enough to hit a critical point.
@NizMhani Has any recent politically-driven march in the UK been truly representative of the statistics above? All of the dividing issues in the UK tend to have a 'group' behind it, be it socially or ethnically. A devils advocate comment as I do not have a position... yet.
@pinstripedline And while I agree, there simply isn't the personnel to crew either platforms. There is no point retaining assets with X maintenance cost if no probable use is made of it. With that said, probability of use has certainly increased exponentially over the last 1-2 years...
@ChisieWeirdo@Number10cat A) I agree on this, short handed decisions. Most happened post Afghan, where spending was high.
B) There are no caps on jobs. The young generation won’t join because it is not appealing (i.e. strict rules, no internet at times and living conditions (both deployed and home).
@Number10cat From a UK POV, we have a dwindling military and we are posed with serious threats across the globe. This is the closest we’ve been to a global war since CW. If we’re serious about defence, NS is a method of demonstrating this. Personnel are our biggest shortfall on a daily basis.
@Number10cat I have to disagree. You need to consider the approach many European countries are taking. Several countries in the last 2 years have extended their National Service (NS), and in Western Europe, NS has been seriously considered (Germany/France).
@NavyLookout This doesn’t consider the fact that the USN utilises a multi-layered approach to ASW, where SSN’s form a significant layer followed by a credible MPA formation. Unlike us, they are not reliant on single platforms to perform multiple vectors for ASW.
A month prior to the collapse, the President of the United States addressed various White House journalists. If the below image doesn't show how ill-prepared and ignorant the Western world was towards the collapse, I don't know what does.
I've just finished watching #Evacuation on @Channel4, and what a gut-wrenching experience that was. In 2021, I started researching the takeover, in which I stumbled across this clip demonstrating how rapid the collapse was of their government.