Originally Posted by
rickair7777
I wouldn't say that a redeployment from a routine SNMG show the flag op in response to attacks related to a war they didn't start, want, or know was coming is "feckless".
Many Brits would agree that their defense spending and Navy is being neglected.
No, but drawing down your military over 35 years to the point you only have two (2) destroyers deployable (one of which broke down enroute to be deployed) is pretty feckless
So is having only one boomer at a time fit for sea duty.
https://www.navylookout.com/royal-na...rol-on-record/
Not to mention an alleged nuclear deterrent service botching their two previous Trident launch attempts:
Trident missile test fails for second time in a row
21 February 2024
Jonathan Beale, defence correspondent, and Andre Rhoden-Paul
BBC News
UK Ministry of Defence / Crown copyrightThis picture shows an unarmed missile being fired from HMS Vigilant in 2012, the last successful test
The test firing of a Trident missile from a Royal Navy submarine has failed, for the second time in a row.
The latest test of the UK's nuclear deterrent was from HMS Vanguard and was seen by Defence Secretary Grant Shapps.
The missile's booster rockets failed and it landed in the sea close to the launch site, according to
the Sun, which first reported the malfunction.
Mr Shapps said he has "absolute confidence" in Trident's submarines, missiles and nuclear warheads.
This is highly embarrassing for both the UK and the US manufacturer of the Trident missile.
British tests of Trident missiles are rare, not least because of the cost. Each missile is worth around £17m and the
last test in 2016 also ended in failure when the missile veered off course. Test-fired missiles are not armed with their nuclear warheads.
The UK has only launched 12 Trident II D-5s from submarines since the Royal Navy acquired the missile in 1994. The missiles are drawn from a shared pool with the US, which carries out all missile-surety tests, and they are only launched by the UK during its Demonstration and Shakedown Operations (DASO) – a series of tests carried out by submarines upon their construction and first sea cruise, or upon completion of a period of maintenance. The UK’s first 10 launches succeeded, with each of the Vanguard-class submarines launching at least two Trident II D-5 missiles between 1994 and 2012 (see Figure 1). The two failures have both reportedly been attributed to human error. The failed test in 2016 was attributed to mis-programming the missile’s target coordinates, while the latest failure was reportedly due to modifications made to the missile in preparation for the test. The submarine and its crew were successfully recertified following the most recent launch.
https://www.iiss.org/online-analysis...e-for-concern/
So you only have one boomer at a time at sea and their ability to actually launch successfully is sort of questionable
I think that pretty well qualifies as feckless.