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Royal Navy reveal visions of future fleet

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Royal Navy reveal visions of future fleet

Old 13th Sep 2021, 00:55
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Royal Navy reveal visions of future fleet

https://news.sky.com/story/royal-nav...uture-12406388

The Royal Navy has unveiled a vision of what the British fleet could look like in the future, including an enormous flying drone station based in the stratosphere Their concept for the flying drone station has it attached to an enormous helium balloon sitting in the upper stratosphere, which the proposal suggests could be covered in material that would collect solar energy for powe
All very good, but should that not be an RAF facility?




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Old 13th Sep 2021, 01:27
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Thunderbirds?

Gerry Anderson died in 2012 - it seems as if his ghost lives on.
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Old 13th Sep 2021, 06:51
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Captain Scarlet surely?


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Old 13th Sep 2021, 07:16
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Seems like the RN addiction when it comes to the Strategic and Operational Air environment still has them diluting their responsibilities for a trained, sustained and capable surface and sub-surface capability.

This may seem a bit comical from the Army and RAF perspective but it does real damage to the Maritime environment. At what point did the RN decide the sea was either too boring or just too difficult to make it their reason for getting out of bed every morning?

At this rate we will soon see the Army unleashing a Maritime vision for themselves to backfill the capabilities repeatedly overlooked by the RN.
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Old 13th Sep 2021, 08:03
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That just looks like another extremely large and vulnerable target to me......one pop and it's gone.
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Old 13th Sep 2021, 08:27
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The 'sky carrier' has been such a trope of SciFi for so long (Marvel in many iterations, Gerry Anderson, Doctor Who etc) that it was inevitable someone would come up with a real-world proposal. I suppose we can laugh, but sometimes this type of blue sky thinking can lead to practical solutions. Sometimes.
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Old 13th Sep 2021, 08:30
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Are we certain this isn't Sharkey telling the RN how its vision ought to be?

CG
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Old 13th Sep 2021, 08:37
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Couldn't the balloon, er Drone Station, just launch some lightweight suicide drones at the target (or missiles if you like)? It all seems a bit like over thinking the problem to me...
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Old 13th Sep 2021, 09:27
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Originally Posted by treadigraph
Couldn't the balloon, er Drone Station, just launch some lightweight suicide drones at the target (or missiles if you like)? It all seems a bit like over thinking the problem to me...
In the future the most devastating will be launched from the back of a transit van!
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Old 13th Sep 2021, 11:32
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"Seems like the RN addiction when it comes to the Strategic and Operational Air environment still has them diluting their responsibilities for a trained, sustained and capable surface and sub-surface capability."


No money for that but you can get a graphic artist for washers these days and a few beers for the ideas session don't cost a lot either

Heaven forfend someone would be looking at fitting modern surface to surface missiles to the escort fleet
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Old 13th Sep 2021, 12:48
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Has someone from Project Astra defected to the Navy?
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Old 13th Sep 2021, 12:49
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https://www.gov.uk/government/news/r...-future-vision

Here's the origin of it. It's basically an industry cadre of newbie graduates who are given free reign to come up with ideas in an unconstrained stylee. Some of us old farts tend to add that it's unconstrained by any sort of engineering basis or feasibility but that's being a little churlish.

They have previous.....

https://www.ship-technology.com/feat...-2050-4718658/

No procurement money or programmes were harmed in the making of this concept......
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Old 13th Sep 2021, 14:56
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Perish the thought that the Royal Navy should task some bright young engineering students to apply a bit of blue sky thinking to the exploitation of sunrise technology to meet our future requirements instead of snoozing fat, dumb and happy with the status quo.

P.S. The Royal Navy ordered its first airship (HMA No.1) in 1909 although the first to fly was HMA No.2, purchased in 1912.
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Old 13th Sep 2021, 15:16
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Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow

Originally Posted by NutLoose
https://news.sky.com/story/royal-nav...uture-12406388



All very good, but should that not be an RAF facility?




Frankie‘s outpost old school reconnaissance so says Sky Captain





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Old 13th Sep 2021, 21:27
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Originally Posted by Not_a_boffin

No procurement money or programmes were harmed in the making of this concept......
Well someone thinks it was worth endorsing:

...and reflects how the Royal Navy is thinking too," added the Royal Navy's second most senior officer.

Vice Admiral Nick Hine
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Old 13th Sep 2021, 21:58
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Doesn’t matter who wrote it, or what their brief was - the RN oiblished it with their name on it and no caveats…
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Old 13th Sep 2021, 22:14
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Originally Posted by FODPlod
Perish the thought that the Royal Navy should task some bright young engineering students to apply a bit of blue sky thinking to the exploitation of sunrise technology to meet our future requirements instead of snoozing fat, dumb and happy with the status quo.

P.S. The Royal Navy ordered its first airship (HMA No.1) in 1909 although the first to fly was HMA No.2, purchased in 1912.
In summary, "Fly Navy, Sail Army, Eat Crab"?

Jack
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Old 13th Sep 2021, 23:36
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Originally Posted by ORAC
Doesn’t matter who wrote it, or what their brief was - the RN oiblished it with their name on it and no caveats…
Fash ye not.

Despite your fears, I suspect this was one of the more outlandish of several of the group’s flights of fancy and that, irrespective of the good Admiral’s words, the Royal Navy isn’t QUITE ready to place any orders based on it without staffing and submitting the usual threat assessments, capability definition studies, identification of key user requirements, feasibility studies, fleet trials, cost & operational effectiveness investment appraisals, balance of investment studies, pain & grief statements, concept of operations, etc.

Or are you sufficiently naïve to believe it’s already cut and dried as RN procurement policy?
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Old 14th Sep 2021, 06:06
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Well, as previously said, and as demonstrated repeatedly, they do have this thing for chasing air power at the expense of the surface and sub-surface fleet…. Even if it’s just at the level of utilising the time and efforts if their youngest and brightest.
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Old 14th Sep 2021, 07:55
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" the Royal Navy isn’t QUITE ready to place any orders based on it without staffing and submitting the usual threat assessments, capability definition studies, identification of key user requirements, feasibility studies, fleet trials, cost & operational effectiveness investment appraisals, balance of investment studies, pain & grief statements, concept of operations, etc."


Ahh thanks for that - makes sense - its a cunning scheme to keep people busy behind their desks for the next 10 years !!
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