Just heard a range of measures on BFBS

Headlines

Cottesmore gone. Harriers and crews to Wittering.
MR2 to go 12 months early - MR4 replacement - delayed
Harriers, Tornado to go - JSF and Typhon the way ahead.
Reductions in Army through early release and less recruitment

Waiting for a decent link in the media

Originally Posted by Ancient_Mariner

Am I right in thinking that the amount of money being cut from MoD, RAF and RN leading, amongst other things, to 10,000 job losses is almost the same as the sum Gordon promised last week to help poor countries fight global warming?

Civil servants! Grasp your P45 with pride. As you sign on, rest secure in the knowledge that your sacrifice means that a mud hut somewhere in Africa has a spanking new windmill on the roof, even though there are no electrical appliances inside the hut.

Having seen some civil servants good riddance I say.....they do fnuck all and walk away with a pay cheque every month...cheers easy!

Originally Posted by Cougar

Originally Posted by Ancient_Mariner

Am I right in thinking that the amount of money being cut from MoD, RAF and RN leading, amongst other things, to 10,000 job losses is almost the same as the sum Gordon promised last week to help poor countries fight global warming?

Civil servants! Grasp your P45 with pride. As you sign on, rest secure in the knowledge that your sacrifice means that a mud hut somewhere in Africa has a spanking new windmill on the roof, even though there are no electrical appliances inside the hut.

Having seen some civil servants good riddance I say.....they do fnuck all and walk away with a pay cheque every month...cheers easy!

Can't see their union sharing that view. Out brothers Out.

Glad to see the PCS union are right on when it comes to saving the planet. It'll be interesting to see what they'll do now Gordon has given away enough cash to save 10,000 jobs.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/news...-MoD-cuts.html

RAF Cottesmore in Rutland will close and two Royal Navy vessels will be withdrawn from service in an effort to balance the books.

The number of civilians working in the Ministry of Defence (MoD) will be reduced and there will also be cuts in the size of the Armed Forces, although Mr Ainsworth insisted that manpower will be prioritised for operation in Afghanistan.

The RAF will lose a Harrier squadron, the Nimrod MR2 spy plane will be withdrawn from service 12 months early and the introduction of the MRA4 model will be slowed.

There will also be a temporary reduction in some aspects of army training, Mr Ainsworth told the Commons.

In his statement he said the money would provide body armour, night vision goggles, tactical radios, communications facilities for special forces, surveillance capabilities, an additional C17 heavy lift aircraft and defensive kit for the Hercules fleet.

A further 22 Chinook helicopters will enter service, with the first ten due in 2012-13.
Shadow defence secretary Liam Fox warned the cuts were the result of the Government's ''catastrophic economic management''.

The £900 million programme, spread over three years, will use money from the core defence budget rather than the Treasury reserve which usually funds operations.

Mr Ainsworth said despite the real-terms growth in the defence budget to £35.4 billion there were "acute cost pressures" caused by fuel and utility bill increases, pay and pensions and the cost of the equipment programme.

The announcements today included an improved "close combat equipment package" with "state of the art" body armour and night vision goggles being made available to 50% more troops.

There will be more Bowman tactical radios for troops and £80 million for special forces communications.

The number of Reaper drones will be doubled as part of a package of increased funding to improve intelligence and surveillance.

Mr Ainsworth said: "My decision to fund these enhancements from the core defence programme reflects our determination to ensure that Defence is supporting the current campaign and our belief that we expect such capabilities to feature in a range of future conflicts our forces may face."

A further £280 million from Treasury reserve will increase the number of Husky and Jackal vehicles for Afghanistan and kit to tackle deadly roadside bombs.

Setting out the cuts, Mr Ainsworth said he anticipated the number of civilian staff at the MoD to continue falling following an independent study.

But, he told MPs: "This is not just about doing more with less.

"We will need to make some hard decisions about what we can stop doing altogether and we will need to make decisions about where we can bear down on other costs."

The Royal Navy will see a minehunter and a survey ship removed from service early along with ageing Lynx and Merlin MK1 helicopters.

A planned competition for a utility vehicle will be scrapped with the project deferred for two years.

The MoD will also spend less on the defence estate than planned next year.

Mr Ainsworth insisted the decision to remove the Nimrod MR2 from service was "unconnected" to a highly critical report into the loss of one of the aircraft over Afghanistan.

Turning to cuts in Armed Forces personnel, Mr Ainsworth said: "The details have not yet been finalised but I emphasise we will be prioritising our manpower for operations in Afghanistan.

"Changes will be targeted so as to avoid affecting personnel involved in current operations.

"Reductions in service personnel numbers will mainly be managed by slowing recruitment and releasing some personnel in accordance with their contracts."

could I get a job on the modification team for these chooks.
I've got some ideas there niether good,practical or useful SO Ideal really its not like anyone is in a hurry for these choppers anyway

Originally Posted by mad_mick

And how many "simple" Chinooks could we get for the same money, do we need all the post cold war techo upgrades to take on the Taliban? Or just a simple moving platform and a few sensible self-preservation modifications? Of course, we could start putting carabineer points on Apaches. (I wish that last comment was a joke, but it wasn't). I have a feeling someone somewhere in time is going to Sioux. (Sorry, I couldn't help it, it had to be done!).

Basic CHAPS upgraded/refurbished ex US Army CH-47D which includes a decent DAS runs about £10 million a pop

Originally Posted by brighton hippy

could I get a job on the modification team for these chooks.
I've got some ideas there niether good,practical or useful SO Ideal really its not like anyone is in a hurry for these choppers anyway

Try here
http://www.elanit.com/imm/default.aspx?page=4548
you can play with the 8 hanger queens to your hearts delight

Originally Posted by Oil_Slick

Originally Posted by mad_mick

And how many "simple" Chinooks could we get for the same money, do we need all the post cold war techo upgrades to take on the Taliban? Or just a simple moving platform and a few sensible self-preservation modifications? Of course, we could start putting carabineer points on Apaches. (I wish that last comment was a joke, but it wasn't). I have a feeling someone somewhere in time is going to Sioux. (Sorry, I couldn't help it, it had to be done!).

Basic CHAPS upgraded/refurbished ex US Army CH-47D which includes a decent DAS runs about £10 million a pop

Of course we could increase our manpower lift capacity by 20% in one stroke, by ferrying only Gurkhas.

Cottesmore gone. Harriers and crews to Wittering.

Right back where they came from, epic, fucking epic

Originally Posted by rockhoppercrab

Originally Posted by brighton hippy

could I get a job on the modification team for these chooks.
I've got some ideas there niether good,practical or useful SO Ideal really its not like anyone is in a hurry for these choppers anyway

Try here
http://www.elanit.com/imm/default.aspx?page=4548
you can play with the 8 hanger queens to your hearts delight

fancy this job
Head of Estimating and Cost Control
no training or experience in that role but cvan't do any worse thant he so called experts