Slow build to keep the pipeline going, skills fresh, account for delays etc I suppose
Given e only have one submarine building ‘barn’ at Barrow and that is also building the Vanguard class replacement, the Dreadnought, space will be at a bit of a premium.
Then there is the question of the people to do the job.
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It’s an interesting summary:
- Where do all the extra staff come from?
- How do you try to get to that target?
- Where are the facilities coming from?
- What is this ‘home resilience’ idea?
- Is this a step back into history, when the ATC was seen as a pre-service training organisation?
Is that the construction phase, or the crewing phase??
All of this surely has one simple answer. More money. Undo things like the VA changes, get more perm staff, buy in better equipment and buildings. Without more funding, your 3 things, and their plan won’t work.
This is where it comes from in the SDR:
A renewed focus on home defence and resilience is vital to modern deterrence, ensuring continuity in national life in a crisis (Chapter 6). Reconnecting Defence with society should be the starting point, as part of a national conversation led by the Government on defence and security. This can be achieved in part through expanding Cadet Forces by 30% by 2030 (with an ambition to reach 250,000 in the longer term) and working with the Department for Education to develop understanding of the Armed Forces among young people in schools.
Which leads on later to:
Building society’s understanding of what the Armed Forces do and increasing their visibility is imperative. This can be achieved through:
…
Expanding the Cadet Forces, which provide skills and qualifications to young people, inform and inspire future Defence personnel—from diverse backgrounds across the country—and support economic growth. This will benefit all four nations of the UK.
…
So I guess the logic is the more cadets we have, the more society might feel ‘connected’ to what is going on. And more cadets mean more young people, and CFAVs, with training in things like first aid etc, which aids resilience in times of war.
I’d say it’s certainly not moving further away from that. But not a step back into proper pre-service training.
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Both parts. Something I’d never be is a submariner, they are all mad. The idea of being in a steel tube 4 to 500 feet underwater with no way out, at least on an airfield you have a chance of surviving enemy action, unless a ‘bucket of instant sunshine’ is used as was the scenario for the V Force.
Having been inside an O Class diesel submarine and seen inside a U Boat, and nuclear submarines whilst having three decks are not much bigger inside given their size.
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All this has to be got past the Treasury first, otherwise it will never happen. Remembering that the government does not have any money of its own as such, that has to come from the tax payers.
We can sell the still in life astutes to Australia or even the US.
Possibly Canada too.
The US Cant meet its sub manufacturing requirements, so even a handful of astutes would ease their deficiency.
However i imagine 2nd hand units to Oz or Can.
Australian nuclear engineering officers are already being trained in the UK and are joining the fleet.
I wonder if they will want places eventually on the ‘Perisher’ course for the new submarines, and also post other submariners to the RN for training? I doubt that they will opt for US for training as their system is very different from the RN as officers have to decide very early in their career which branch of the service that they wish to follow.
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A very different resilience to the EPRR/JESIP/service-specific resilience units (eg NARU) I’m sure many would have read that as!
Not that I’d complain either way - to be honest, I think there could be a place for having a well-organised team of generic volunteers for EPRR resilience that could be drawn from CFAV/Staff Cadets as well it could any other group of society?
One interesting suggestion I did read on Reddit was that everyone in the forces should be getting UAV and C-UAS training as standard. Almost in the same way everyone needs a WHT. They are now so cheap and easily accessible, yet can completely change the battlefield. If everyone needs to learn how to safely handle a rifle and a pistol, then teach them the basics in flying a UAV too.
For most roles, it would be arguably more useful that knowing how to use a rifle…
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Some very rudimentary C-UAS awareness has been included in IRT Mod. 1 for a few years now. Hopefully, it is being improved based on feedback from our Ukrainian friends.
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I would probably think Air Marshall Alan Marshall.
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Ive always been told by senior bods thats his Mrs that they would expect to be next in line
But would be a 2 rank jump
Next time around, I expect. Having seen her on you tube she appears very impressive. She commanded 2 Group and on the day they changed the hair regulations she was at Brize with a long ponytail.
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He can’t make ACM, his initials are too funny as AM AM
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Sounds like he should be a vehicle belong to the empire!