Sputnik
In a reflection of the UK's host of internal political and economic problems, its Armed Forces have likewise been grappling with financial and operational woes.
In most war games carried out by the UK military, its costly flagship aircraft carriers “get sunk", The Times cited a source as saying.
HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, commissioned into the Royal Navy in 2017 and 2019, respectively, together cost £6.2 billion. (approx. $7.8 billion) to build but are reportedly vulnerable to missiles.
A “whole load of scenarios” was run during war games to test the Royal Navy’s “ability to survive” against an “overwhelming force", a British military source was quoted as saying, adding:
The report cited Matthew Savill, director of military sciences at the Royal United Services Institute, as speculating that the great stride made in missile technology development was the ability to “locate and track” aircraft carriers.
This comes amid an ongoing Strategic Defence Review commissioned by Britain’s Labor Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and overseen by the Defence Secretary John Healey. The review is due in the first half of 2025.
Both ministers and military chiefs have been pressured to implement cost-cutting measures due to financial constraints. Hence, large assets like the aircraft carriers are under heightened scrutiny to decide whether they are still a vital staple for modern warfare.
Former Minister for Defence Procurement Lord Lee of Trafford told the outlet that the military was struggling to afford the requisite numbers of F-35 aircraft for the carriers, along with escort ships and support vessels.
The National Interest referred to problems with UK aircraft carriers HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales as a "nightmare" that "won’t end," due to the fact that the two have faced a number of technical malfunctions and operational restrictions.
Furthermore, The Telegraph reported that the Royal Navy's auxiliary fleet, which is supposed to provide the fleet with supplies at sea, is in an "even worse mess" than many could think. Due to the lack of personnel, many vessels are not operating, with some being in the state of 'extended readiness' and other believed never to be deployed, as per the outlet.
According to Sky News, the eagerness of the British civilian sailors to strike due to a significant decrease in pay could affect both the nation’s military operations on a global scale, as well as NATO’s activities.
Experts believe the situation with the navy reflects the UK's internal crises, namely the political and economic problems the country is facing today.
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