Posted on 07/11/2015 8:25:55 PM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
An online campaign group made the stark warning amid concerns Armed Forces are facing even more cuts with another Defence Review scheduled for later this year.
Save The Royal Navy believes the service will be hard pushed to man even one of the massive ships because of the depleted number of sailors.
The organisation also expressed concerns the record low staffing levels will lead to “dangerously small crews” while uncertainty over the number of aircrafts on board the carriers and lack of escort vessels could leave them vulnerable to an attack.
So far only three of the eight F35 type fighter jets ordered by the UK Government have been delivered while little has been said about how many frigates and destroyers will accompany the massive ships to prevent them from becoming “sitting ducks”.
The first of the Queen Elizabeth class Navy carriers, which cost £6.2billion to construct, is not due to be operational for another year but former sailors are already worried cuts to personnel mean there are not enough servicemen and women to staff the ships, build in Rosyth, Fife.
Pete Sandeman, editor of the campaign website, said the service faced a “staffing nightmare” with the vessels.
He added: “In terms of manning the carriers, the Navy has said it can just about man the first one which has incredibly small complement of around 700 which for an aircraft carrier of that size is exceptionally low.
“The carrier will have a lot of automation on board, for example they’ll have automated handling for all the ammunition – a bit like in warehouses where you have little robots doing all the running around – which sounds great but in the rough and ready world of warship and combat a lot of things can go wrong so in a way humans are a far more reliable system.
“Time will tell how well this will work. But there are real concerns that the figure of around 700 is too low and will prove to be too low once the vessels set sail.
“It will be at a full stretch as it is to man even one carrier. Manning both even with a skeleton crews will put additional pressure on the service.
“In an emergency that would be a problem.
“We need more manpower. Realistically the Navy could do with another 5,000 people.
“At the time when the threat to surface vessels is multiplying with Russia flexing its muscles, without equipping the carriers to their full potential they can become a liability. They need frigates and destroyers as escort ships with crews plus an adequate number of aircraft.”
The Royal Navy has seen its numbers fall by two thirds over the past few decades with around 30,000 men and women still in service.
An ex-serviceman who still retains close links to senior ranks at the Navy said his old colleagues were “understandably concerned” about the logistics of finding enough people for the new carriers.
He explained that a ship of that calibre would be expected to have two crews of 1,000 on permanent rota with another 1,000 people in training and added: “Unless there is a massive recruitment drive there is no way they are going to have enough personnel for one of these aircraft carriers, never mind two.
“I’m told that most naval bases are like ghost towns at the moment, there are so few people left.”
The Royal Navy said it was confident the concerns were unfounded. The service is on track to achieve its manning levels for 2020 as set out in the 2010 Defence Review with no further plans to reduce the size of the regular Armed Forces.
A spokesman added: “The Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers are the largest ships ever commissioned for the Royal Navy and together with F35B Lightning II jets will deliver sea power for the UK around the world.
"As the Prime Minister confirmed at the NATO Summit last year, both carriers will be delivered ensuring we always have one available and we will of course make sure they have the people they need.
“The agreement is that we will have one aircraft carrier available for operations at any one time – we will have the manpower to meet that commitment.
“There is no direct relationship between the size of a vessel and the manpower required to operate it. Technology has allowed manpower efficiencies over time but the aircraft carriers will be appropriately manned to allow them to operate effectively and safely.
"It is important to note that the figure of 670 is the minimum to operate the platform. The ship can accommodate 1600 and the manpower will increase as the various (F35) air groups are embarked.”
I find the two islands interesting.
no problem,,, it doesn't have any planes either!!!
(Picture of Randy Quaid in “Independence Day”)
“I can fly!”
Use your history UK—Press Gangs! Go out to computer stores and coffee shops and round up sailors for the queen! When England is hard pressed—the subjects will turn out! Have Prince Harry lead a new movement to enlist—maybe a picture of him for a poster “We need you!”
I am assuming that when it comes to military service the conservative ‘leaders’ in the UK are just as much limp-Richards as their counterparts in the US.
They have plenty of people on the welfare roles soaking up money though...
But the UK has plenty of money for the people enlisted to serve on the dole including Muzzies with multiple wives!
So when the air wing needs 25 knots over the bow they have to call the other tower toask for it how gay
Better start building some seaman robots.
Then again, if they didn't sink the damn ship they'd probably run up the Jolly-Rasheed and set sail for the caliphate.
Not gonna have any planes for them, either. Glorified helicopter carrier that will be sold to India in a decade or less.
In the recent budget, George Osbourne the Chancellor of Exchequer (finance minister) announced that he would be raising the budget in real terms through to 2020, in part thanks to pressure from the US to do so. There should be money available now for increasing manpower and equipment levels.
There are advantages as well as problems.
The twin island design has - according to some sources at least because nobody is confirming this officially - a reduced radar cross section compared to the single island structure that otherwise would have been used, especially at longer ranges and in over the horizon situations.
Also both islands are able to replicate most of the other functions of the other in an emergency, creating a significant redundancy capability. You can lose one island and continue operations. Not as efficiently as both of them working together, but better than losing it all.
Finally, there are advantages to the two island structure in terms of the ventilation of the engine systems given the location of the turbines within the ships, as the islands also contain the intake and exhaust valves for those turbines - different considerations than those which apply to nuclear powered carriers.
Automation. What happens if the automation is knocked out by a direct hit?
There are many, many peace-loving moozlums running around GB. Make this an all-moozlum crew. Problem “solved”.
Or a lurking data time-bomb designed to knock out the system at a precise time of an enemy attack, or when in a response attack mode is engaged in.
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