Type 31 Frigate

[olafthered]

Paul Sweeny's the guy who's been pushing the 4X stories, though George is the one publishing them. I've requested the chance to write an opposing view.

It is the lack of question I find irritating...

 

[rampant]

It is the lack of question I find irritating...

Aye, he's not really the analytical type.

 

[terminal]

This today

View attachment 525096

Still doesn't tell us much though

I don't think there's much to say, as apparently nothing has been decided yet except that they have acknowledged they will need some new ships to replace some older ones that will be going out of service. The "T32" label appears to be just a placeholder for plans that haven't been made yet.

 

[Escape-from-PPRuNe]

Is this another go round of the Black Swan concept (it's like a black swan, you're not going to see one round here any time soon)?

 

[Himmler74]

This was also mentioned in defence journal by the resident BAES press release repeater I mean by George Allison. This appears to be coming from a BAES led effort to link 4X and 26 in what passes for the MODs collective mind. It is being resisted.. rightly.

He was whinging on Twitter that the AH64E were remanufactured not all new buys.

 

[Dafty duck]

So. T32 at this point and for the foreseeable next few years. Amounts to the square root of feck all. And unless it's an off the shelf design, like T31, won't see a metal shooty thingy floating in the water until about 2040....

Absolute ******* legends.....

 

[Himmler74]

So. T32 at this point and for the foreseeable next few years. Amounts to the square root of feck all. And unless it's an off the shelf design, like T31, won't see a metal shooty thingy floating in the water until about 2040....

Absolute ******* legends.....

It will be in service long before AJAX and Warrior CSP make IOC.

 

[Dafty duck]

It will be in service long before AJAX and Warrior CSP make IOC.

Well, duh.

 

[Mattb]

Call me a little cynical, but this sounds like something that if you explain it vaguely and speculatively enough it sounds like an increase of hulls in the water at some point in the medium future and is thus a "commitment to grow the RN" but by the time anything actually gets going, will at no point give us more than 19 active escorts.

 

[bob231]

19 active hulls would still be a strict increase on what we have now.

 

[Mr._Average]

This today

View attachment 525096

Still doesn't tell us much though

It's so speculative they don't even have a PowerPoint for it!

 

[Cynical]

Do you sigh,roll your eyes slot and shrug your shoulders at co workers during planning meetings? I hope you don't have any influence over junior members of staff and someone with enthusiasm is senior to you and can kick your nialisistic arse.
Whatever we order it's an opportunity to expand and capitalise on success.

Ah yes - from political announcement of something no-one understands to power point session of Ally-New-Frigate to battle between ANF and some fishead who suggests possibly extending current order, countered by an ill informed parliamentary committee demanding that all T26 and T31 are crap as they don't have half the features of ANF and that therefore the (still not designed) new features of ANF be retrofitted as operational emergency.

Cue huge delight from shipbuilders as major contract amends mean almost all RN surface fleet now tied up and being welded. Matelots on permanent runs ashore.

Cure RAF counter attack of FAA, seeing ownership of carriers on flight safety grounds (and showing cost saving by only operating Mon-Fri).

Meanwhile Tommy Atkins is still waking to war, carrying his bergen, brew kit, a poor substitute for THAT rifle, several hundred rounds of 7.62 link, a Javelin, a radio connected to someone with no sense of humor who is trying to get him killed.

He wishes he was in Wellington's army when he would only have to carry 70 rounds (which would probably last the entire campaign) there were no anti tank weapons and enemy cavalry also provided fresh meat (provided Tommy got into square quickly - which he did), there were few maps, looting rape and pillage were viable options after a siege. The only downside was no goretex.

Tommy wonders how he ever got sucked into the army and reckons it's time to PVR.

 

[philc]

Ah yes - from political announcement of something no-one understands to power point session of Ally-New-Frigate to battle between ANF and some fishead who suggests possibly extending current order, countered by an ill informed parliamentary committee demanding that all T26 and T31 are crap as they don't have half the features of ANF and that therefore the (still not designed) new features of ANF be retrofitted as operational emergency.

Cue huge delight from shipbuilders as major contract amends mean almost all RN surface fleet now tied up and being welded. Matelots on permanent runs ashore.

Cure RAF counter attack of FAA, seeing ownership of carriers on flight safety grounds (and showing cost saving by only operating Mon-Fri).

Meanwhile Tommy Atkins is still waking to war, carrying his bergen, brew kit, a poor substitute for THAT rifle, several hundred rounds of 7.62 link, a Javelin, a radio connected to someone with no sense of humor who is trying to get him killed.

He wishes he was in Wellington's army when he would only have to carry 70 rounds (which would probably last the entire campaign) there were no anti tank weapons and enemy cavalry also provided fresh meat (provided Tommy got into square quickly - which he did), there were few maps, looting rape and pillage were viable options after a siege. The only downside was no goretex.

Tommy wonders how he ever got sucked into the army and reckons it's time to PVR.

Dont be so glum chum, next time the Senior Service has to drop you off or bail you out you can spend the few days aboard asleep on the floor of a shinny new ship, heck we might even let you borrow an Ipod to listen too.

 

[Cynical]

Dont be so glum chum, next time the Senior Service has to drop you off or bail you out you can spend the few days aboard asleep on the floor of a shinny new ship, heck we might even let you borrow an Ipod to listen too.

AS shiny new ship will inevitably be tied up in Portsmouth (or some other RN base) I think I'll stay at home, further from the reign of rum, sodomy and the lash....
But thanks for the offer.

 

[Himmler74]

Ah yes - from political announcement of something no-one understands to power point session of Ally-New-Frigate to battle between ANF and some fishead who suggests possibly extending current order, countered by an ill informed parliamentary committee demanding that all T26 and T31 are crap as they don't have half the features of ANF and that therefore the (still not designed) new features of ANF be retrofitted as operational emergency.

Cue huge delight from shipbuilders as major contract amends mean almost all RN surface fleet now tied up and being welded. Matelots on permanent runs ashore.

Cure RAF counter attack of FAA, seeing ownership of carriers on flight safety grounds (and showing cost saving by only operating Mon-Fri).

Meanwhile Tommy Atkins is still waking to war, carrying his bergen, brew kit, a poor substitute for THAT rifle, several hundred rounds of 7.62 link, a Javelin, a radio connected to someone with no sense of humor who is trying to get him killed.

He wishes he was in Wellington's army when he would only have to carry 70 rounds (which would probably last the entire campaign) there were no anti tank weapons and enemy cavalry also provided fresh meat (provided Tommy got into square quickly - which he did), there were few maps, looting rape and pillage were viable options after a siege. The only downside was no goretex.

Tommy wonders how he ever got sucked into the army and reckons it's time to PVR.

Tommy needs no further to look than his generals, they have wasted money re designing the wheel, neglected to upgrade assets as it wasn’t in the black mafia’s interest.

 

[Cynical]

Tommy needs no further to look than his generals,

Indeed. And as the current recruitment of officers is swing in favour of graduates, masters etc. people being commissioned at 24 or more is not uncommon. This means that by the time they get their fist pl comd they'll be about 25 and in very short time promoted Captain and on up the greasy pole, having spent very little time in the company of Tommy and his pals.

Throw in the multi Bn regiments with cross posting of officers (not all do this, particularly what's left of the RAC) and you end up with senior officers who have little contact, experience or empathy with soldiers. Outsource recruitment to Crapita and it get's worse.

 

[QRK2]

Indeed. And as the current recruitment of officers is swing in favour of graduates, masters etc. people being commissioned at 24 or more is not uncommon. This means that by the time they get their fist pl comd they'll be about 25 and in very short time promoted Captain and on up the greasy pole, having spent very little time in the company of Tommy and his pals.

Throw in the multi Bn regiments with cross posting of officers (not all do this, particularly what's left of the RAC) and you end up with senior officers who have little contact, experience or empathy with soldiers. Outsource recruitment to Crapita and it get's worse.

Chatting to some who are being released from the factory tomorrow week, they expect to be Pl/Tp comds for 1 year to 18 months, but on further enquiry they were including their STA course in that time. Several had indeed got Masters degrees and were 25 or 26 years old.

 

[History_Man]

Chatting to some who are being released from the factory tomorrow week.

BL walt!

 

[History_Man]

Chatting to some who are being released from the factory tomorrow week, they expect to be Pl/Tp comds for 1 year to 18 months, but on further enquiry they were including their STA course in that time. Several had indeed got Masters degrees and were 25 or 26 years old.

The obvious way around that is turn RMAS into RMUS and commission junior officers at 21 or 22, complete with a degree.

 

[rampant]

The obvious way around that is turn RMAS into RMUS and commission juniors at 21 or 22, complete with a degree.

Or shortening the application process from UOTC students, unless it has already changed, rather than make them go through the same long application process as civvies. I remember former UOTC types still stuck in the recruitment process over a year or more after they left University.