SD67 wrote: ↑07 Sep 2023, 16:06
…NMH pushed into the long grass, Merlins turned over to the Navy…
Great and now it’s time to transfer the Wildcats across to the Navy.
60 Wildcats should have been what RN got in the first place. Still time to do it now. The current RN Wildcats have almost no allowance for any attrition whatsoever. No strength in depth.
Adding extra escorts and in time OPVs with hangers will require more Wildcats. Each escort can and will be able to embark 2 Wildcats. That capacity allows a single T31 to be a phenomenally potent ASuW asset.
As an example each T31 could embark:
- 32x CAMM
- 16x NSM
- 24x TLAM (or equivalent)
- 2x Wildcat with 10 LMM+2SV or 20 LMM or 4SV each
- 3x RHIBs and EMF >50
That’s an amazing capability and if operating in groups of 2 or 3 vessels it’s a lethal ASuW combination as well as extremely cost effective.
mrclark303 wrote: ↑07 Sep 2023, 18:47
…The Army and RAF are just screaming for UH70, they have been requesting Blackhawk since the turn of the century…
If the SF Chinook order is cancelled perhaps an order for Blackhawks assembled in the U.K. for an enlarged NMH would smooth over the fallout. Combined the budgets are £3.5bn so probably enough for around 100x S-70i.
Given the lessons learned in Ukraine are the Army Wildcats even relevant on the battlefield anymore? Surely drones spotting for the Apaches in highly attritional battle spaces are more sensible.
Therefore, it’s the perfect time to have a complete reassessment of the UK’s helicopter assets. Current funding appears to be enough to sort it out if the correct decisions are made