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Mike

Paragraph 1; boast => boats

Dern

There’s also a form instead of from and an overall instead of overhaul.

Cameron

We originally were building 5 ballistic missile submarines, we should build 5 Dreadnoughts for emergencies and so that crews might have better family life’s and spend less time at sea thus retaining more highly skilled submariners and the submarines might not wear out as quick.

DOCKYARD DAVY

Successive Governments put all their eggs in one basket by making Devonport the only place where Nuclear subs could be re-fitted Some sort of limited capability could have been maintained at Rosyth, Instead all of Rosyth’s infrastructure for Nuclear subs has been removed.

Cameron

Yeah the government seem to like putting all our eggs in one basket! Rosyth should build our big ships like FFS, we will need more large RFA and Royal Navy ships in the near future, but England losing its Royal Navy ship building is beyond me! Scotland and England should both build RN ships, but I suppose England has Submarine manufacturing, shame we can’t export submarines.

DOCKYARD DAVY

The Australian’s are investing in modern new facilities to build their type 26 frigates ,They will probably build them faster and to a higher standard using these facilities. We should be doing the same and not just in one place but all over the country, We need these ships sooner rather than later. England should not loose out, like I have said putting all you’r eggs in one basket is a recipe for disaster. Devonport is a victim of its own success . It has too much work and does not have enough skilled manpower to cope , some of its re – fit work could go to other yards which are struggling to stay in business. help keep the skills alive for the future

Stephen G.

I still think the frigate factory enclosed dock hall should be built on the Clyde so that we have World class facilities in which to build the Royal Navy’s frigates and destroyers. We have the Rosyth to assemble the F.S.S. ships and other large ships for the R.N. and R.F.A.. And no, England should definitely not lose out, the Type 31 should be built at Cammell Lairds on the Mersey.

Cameron

Yeah maybe Appledore could have done some of the mine hunter refit work instead. Even frigate refit work if it was financially viable. Shame we lost the Tyne swan and hunter yard demolishing their last cranes not long ago! Belfast the Clyde, Tyne, Merseyside and the rest all had major ship building! it’s juat a handful of yards now that are always threatening closure! the Clyde will survive because it has to even if we build OPVs that weren’t wanted! More frigates or even corvettes would be better than dam OPVs we need more escorts.

Callum

Nuclear Z berths aren’t exactly cheap to maintain or popular to build. There’s also the odd sentiment of not wanting England to lose out, yet you want to take away work from Devonport? The logical second site would be in Scotland, probably Rosyth where there used to be nuclear berths.

The reality is that the fleet (and especially the submarine service) is too small to sustain more than a couple of building and maintenance facilities long term. The issue isn’t that we need another facility, it’s that we delay programmes, lose skills, and spend more money for less gain. We need smarter governments, not more yards

Grubbie

Are you sure that the refit won’t just be abandoned?

Grubbie

OK, full conspiracy mode,what if all boats had an irreparable fault?

Iqbal Ahmed

@Grubbie shhhh….that’s a state secret. Don’t you know that Russian trolls regularly monitor this site?

Maybe we should get our subs and American made missiles Made in China. They seem to make everything else we use! Probably turn out cheaper and built to a higher quality too.

At best the deterrent is one time use. The Yanks won’t give us additional missiles/maintain or upgrade systems unless we are in a war alongside them rather than go off on a frolick of our own against their wishes.

Cameron

We British just got rid of loads of our nuclear warheads reducing the numbers to 160 or less! We don’t need extra missiles (trident delivery system) from USA we had and have all we need says the government but I’m not sure, we should have more just incase and fill our submarines again! No point half arsing it when we are spending the money anyway, And we share a pool of trident missiles with USA. Remember we only Fill half our Vanguard Subs with missiles these days!! Atleast we still make our own nuclear warheads though.

Airborne

And by that comment alonenismproof you know virtually nothing about the nuclear deterrent, it’s programme and defence matters in general. Sad, but expected.

Grubbie

Much as I enjoy being voted down, you destroy your case by voting down questions.
The British people decide how much defence expenditure they want to payfor ,not the RN.
The reason why I ask this question is that it wouldn’t be the first time the MOD has got itself into an iretrevable mess and they don’t tend to fess up until several billion have been wasted.

Dern

You don’t ask questions, you spout bullshit and anti-British nonsense.

David Graham

The British people don’t decide anything of the kind. The ruling administration does that, and the last three administrations have decided defence is towards the bottom of their priorities, starting with the “peace dividend” and the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Those of us who lived [and served] during the Cold War know full well the importance of credible defence and one of the factors borne in mind by the opposition was the threat of unacceptable damage from a retaliatory strike by CASD, hence the importance of maintaining a credible deterrent.

John Clark

We can only hope the noise about real increases in defence spending actually come to something.

This is just another symptom of 30 years of deliberate defence slashing.

An increase to 3% of GDP is vital, prior to the next SDSR.

It’s long overdue to ( excuse the pun) turn the boat around chaps!

Barry Larking

Has anyone else noticed how Whitehall’s money saving ideas always end in greater expenditure long term? Most of those who make these rash decisions have retired to a comfortable life working (sic) one day a week for some multi-national corporation and never face the music.

John Clark

Absolutely Barry, spot on mate.

John Magee

If we still had Royal Dockyards owned by MOD Navy, instead of These Private Companies with little or no Experience running The Dockyards we may not have so many problems Refitting HM Ships & Submarines and lack of spares

Rob C

And today, over 3 years after the original post, it’s reported that Babcock are using glue in place of screws to attach insulation!