New Naval base
Posted: 03 Nov 2015 15:45
Britain has started to build a new naval base, they are going back to Bahrain and the base will have the same name HMS Jufair.
Seems probably symbolic more than anything else, the RN's fleet has shrunk so much over the last couple of decades that they really don't have that much to station there, the days of the Home Fleet, Mediterranean Fleet, British Pacific Fleet etc which consisted of multiple carriers and battleships are long gone.
At the time of the Falklands War in 1982 the Royal Navy had 3 Carriers, 53 frigates and 13 destroyers, in 2010 that had shrunk to 1 Carrier and 24 surface warships, now they have a single helicopter carrier (the two aircraft carriers wont actually have a fighter wing of their own for about 5 years, of which only one carrier will be operational) and even less surface warships, so apart from a visiting ship, it will spend a lot of time with empty wharves I suppose.
Whilst most things you can see why it is being done and understand it, I cannot with this unless they are about to start to making the RN a lot bigger.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-34690895
Robert
Seems probably symbolic more than anything else, the RN's fleet has shrunk so much over the last couple of decades that they really don't have that much to station there, the days of the Home Fleet, Mediterranean Fleet, British Pacific Fleet etc which consisted of multiple carriers and battleships are long gone.
At the time of the Falklands War in 1982 the Royal Navy had 3 Carriers, 53 frigates and 13 destroyers, in 2010 that had shrunk to 1 Carrier and 24 surface warships, now they have a single helicopter carrier (the two aircraft carriers wont actually have a fighter wing of their own for about 5 years, of which only one carrier will be operational) and even less surface warships, so apart from a visiting ship, it will spend a lot of time with empty wharves I suppose.
Whilst most things you can see why it is being done and understand it, I cannot with this unless they are about to start to making the RN a lot bigger.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-34690895
Robert