Originally Posted by sparky42

I think one of the requirements would be guard helicopter for the SSBN's now that the Nimrod's are gone. With the Type 22's gone now of the rest of the ships are meant to take the Lynx's. It might be for the Commando's needs rather then the Royal Navy.

The AAC Wildcat's where under the Battlefield Light Utility Helicopter. Jack of all trades and it would surprise me if they replaced the gazelle with it. I.e. retired the gazelle and just reallocate the numbers. Not by anymore, that would be silly thinking.

Originally Posted by Conor the Bold

Merlin is ASW and troop lift only - replacing the Sea King.

The Wildcat is multirole, and one role it offers more than the Merlin is that fact that it has a ASuW capability, where as the Merlin doesn't.

I thought the Merlin could fire the Sea skua too?

And what ever the follow on to the skua is.....

Edit, never mind just checked and it seems the skua was not intergrated with the Merlin.

Originally Posted by Elvis jaffacake

I thought the Merlin could fire the Sea skua too?

And what ever the follow on to the skua is.....

Edit, never mind just checked and it seems the skua was not intergrated with the Merlin.

I remember seeing a photo where it was carrying 2 or 4 sea Eagles, but that was probably at an arms show.

The gazelle was useful for light jobs but had the survivability of a moth on a battlefield.
The fact the french flew them into battle over libya was awe inspiring they are basically plastic.

Look at this baby. Its the design for the Royal Navy replacement frigate.
BBC News - MoD reveals design of Royal Navy future warships

They look nice, but I wonder if they'll come online when promised and what numbers the Royal Navy will actually get when all is said and done. The T45 project doesn't inspire confidence. How much will be fitted for but not with?

Originally Posted by sparky42

They look nice, but I wonder if they'll come online when promised and what numbers the Royal Navy will actually get when all is said and done. The T45 project doesn't inspire confidence. How much will be fitted for but not with?

If it follows the same line as the destroyer replacement, the 13 serving ships will be replaced by 8 at most. Big bun fight now as all the UK shipyards fight for any chance to build.

Originally Posted by Dohville

If it follows the same line as the destroyer replacement, the 13 serving ships will be replaced by 8 at most. Big bun fight now as all the UK shipyards fight for any chance to build.

I can imagine the howls if the RN drops to that level. To be honest I liked the C1-C3 idea of high end and low end hulls rather then having Destroyers or Frigates doing anti-Pirate patrols. If they go down to 8 trying to get a task force for the Carrier is going to be difficult as well.

Though at least they're better than the US LCS hulls ( that's seems to be a massive budget hole to say the least)

The lcs is hiliarious cock up.
The low end hull is a good idea if you have a big fleet.
Unfortunatly the royalnavy is not going to be huge.
Knowing ships are going to operate alone and lots of high tech weapons are know out there

Originally Posted by sparky42

They look nice, but I wonder if they'll come online when promised and what numbers the Royal Navy will actually get when all is said and done. The T45 project doesn't inspire confidence. How much will be fitted for but not with?

The T45 is a fabulous vessel. It can fight a small war all on its own. The QE2 aircraft carrier along with a T45 and the new frigate plus the support vessels would make a great battlegroup. It would pack more firepower than most nations on the planet. The T45 and the new frigate are designed as multirole vessels that can work just fine individually as well part of a carrier group.