Super carriers.. Back in July 2008 Capitalists@work foretold....Here
-The carriers will cost 4 billion pounds At least £4 billion as defence procurements have a history of overspend.
The price of the carriers is accepted to have risen to £5.4bn already.
- One report is that the carriers can only use the F-35B Lockheed Martin built in the USA. This is a kind of new generation Harrier part of the joint strike fighter program. But there is a superior F-35C model already under design that won't be able to be used unless modifications to the aircraft carriers are made.
It now appears that one of the carriers will be converted to take catapults enabling them to take the F-35c. Much cheaper and mostly better. {The F-35b is a VTOL design like the Harrier} *Of the 800 supposed orders of F-35 II only 5 have definitely been ordered. 3 by the UK.
And in the many, many comments..Worth reading, as we had little news just the RN's CGI 'artists impression'.
Also to defend the ships the navy has had to order the type-45 destroyer [8, now possibly being reduced to 6] and the astute attack nuclear submarines. Thats an awful lot of shipbuilding. Plus the new, and very late, Nimrod anti-sub plane is needed to defend them too.
- The 6 destroyers and the subs have survived but the Nimrods are cancelled. I don't believe we have any maritime surveillance aircraft at all now.
There is a heavy political lesson for the ConDems here. The coalition is facing the flak for decisions that they had to make, based on the legacy of the previous government.
Very good round up by BBC defence correspondent halfway down the page
There was laughter with Ed Miliband's comment of aircraft carriers without aircraft, which is exactly what HIS OLD Prime Minister ordered, also deliberately signing no-cancellation deals to secure the work for his own voters shipyards. Yet in the media, Cameron's must take the blame.
Welcome to Obama's world Dave.
