Posted on 01/27/2024 6:27:59 PM PST by Red Badger
British warships in the Red Sea can not carry missiles capable of destroying Houthi rebel bases - despite the Yemeni group continuing its campaign of strikes against civilian ships.
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Royal Navy destroyers and frigates do not have the capability to strike Houthi land targets and the situation has been described as a "scandal" by a former UK defence chief.
The deficiency has left the US to strike land targets against the belligerent group alone - aided by RAF aircraft nearly 1,500 miles away.
A British defence source told the Sunday Telegraph that the HMS Diamond, stationed to respond to Houthi provocations in the Red Sea, "did not have the capability to fire at land targets".
A British defence source told the Sunday Telegraph that the HMS Diamond, stationed to respond to Houthi provocations in the Red Sea, "did not have the capability to fire at land targets". Picture: Alamy
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The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said that it had been instead "directly involved in successfully destroying Houthi drones" in the Red Sea.
An former rear admiral suggested that the inability on show in the Red Sea shows that the British armed forces would be unable to withstand a full-scale war against China or Russia.
The latest blow comes after Brits were warned that we must prepare for conscription within six years unless Vladimir Putin is defeated by an expert.
Several Nato members have faced warnings about bolstering their militaries in the event of an armed conflict, most likely with Russia.
This includes the UK, where the head of the British Army, General Sir Patrick Sanders, said Brits would face being called up in the event of a war as our military is 'too small'.
Professor Anthony Glees, a security and intelligence expert at the University of Buckingham, has said Sir Patrick is “absolutely right” that the UK should prepare for an outbreak of all-out war.
“The UK Government should plan to sign up volunteers now and over the next three years and 'the whole of the nation' should prepare for conscription within six years unless Putin were defeated,” he told The Mirror.
Professor Glees compared the current situation in the UK to 1937, the pre-war years before the outbreak of another war.
This follows previous comments made by Sir Patrick back in 2022, when he said the UK was having a ‘1937 moment’ as the West came to grips with the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
While Sir Patrick does not support conscription - which means forcing individuals to serve in the military - in the British army, he said he does believe there needs to be a "shift" in the mindset of regular Brits.
Sir Patrick wants regular Brits to 'think more like troops' in case an all-out war with Russia does break out.
He called for a Finnish-style 'citizen army', which would be made up of 500,000 people, including soldiers, reserves and eventually, volunteers and regular citizens.
Professor Glees continued: “I would see a 'limited conscription', a call-up of incentivised volunteers, as being very much on the cards if Putin is now thrown out of Ukraine.
“Obviously, if there were a wider European or world war, conscription would follow at once.
“Putin has repeatedly said he wants the post-1997 NATO states to be disarmed and brought back into the Russia orbit, re-creating the system of satellites that was the strategic policy of the USSR.
“There's not a snowball's chance in hell of Putin just going away.”
The defense contractors need to build something so they can make billions of dollars on this.
But yeah the Royal Navy is a hollowed out shell of its one great self.
I’ve been reading Peter Hitchens for years his father served as an officer in the RN during World War II.
The Navy and other British armed forces branches are a shambles and their Defense Minister talks war with Russia.
Washington handed him that speech IMHO because the UK can’t wage war with Russia alone.
Send the migrants to fight the Houthis. If they win they can keep Yemen for themselves.
The odds of a Russian land invasion of England are zero.
A gray alien land attack is far more likely.
;-)
Not a big surprise...
Most moslem nations, like the UK, will find find reasons not to attack the brothers...
Recall during the Falklands War they sent practically the entire Royal Navy to retake the islands.
They sure take a lot of provocative actions for not having very much hardware.
They should tone it down a notch, until they improve their capabilities.
Russia wouldn't be able to make it through all the migrant boats heading to England's shores.
They British do not speak for themselves they speak for the Neocons in Washington who know We The People in this country are fed up with their crap.
The Brits can fight if the US military is in back of them and that’s the plan in conjunction with the proper false flag provocation involving Russia.
Please don’t hit me. Please.
Gray aliens aren't the aliens that Britain needs to worry about.
Hell, why don’t they just send some social workers to reason with the hooties.
I guess this is part of that mighty task force that was going to teach the Houthis “we mean business.” [ https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-783330#google_vignette }
Houthis: “Oh look! The paper tiger has paper teeth!”
The Daring's already have a 4.5" gun, dual Phalanx and remote 30mm guns, a mix of GPMGs, miniguns and 50 cal MGs, lessons learned from the Falklands. They can carry one or two helicopters carrying a Martlet or Sea Venom short range air to surface missiles, from the Battle of Bubiyan of the Gulf war where the RN trashed the Iraqi Navy (Yes RN, some Americans know about that one). Now upgraded to NSMs and add surface launched Storm Shadow missiles.
That would give the Daring's an all around anti-surface ability from pirate skiffs to deep land strike, on top of the AAW and helicopter based ASW.
Sweet dreams, RN.
No ability to hit land targets from the ships....
A little help is needed....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=is5u5uhyc6s
It seemed to me a while back when I was reading through various NATO countries’ capabilities, that many NATO countries focus’ varies from country to country, creating a force that sort of has to depend on its fellow members and then of course the US, to create a comprehensive force. I believe this is by design.
UK spent 2.3% of GDP on defense in 2020 and 2021. Better than most NATO countries!
This after we were told that this was a combined British/U.S. mission against the Houthis. It is just more of the U.S. poking a stick in the eye of anyone in hopes of getting the U.S. into a foreign war.
UK spent 2.3% of GDP on defense in 2020 and 2021. Better than most NATO countries!
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Good for them, but unless I can see where & how those expenditures are being applied, I’m not sure what to make of them.
The British are civilized & well organized, I’m not worried about them.
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