New carriers

codprawn · 25 July 2007, 17:37

These should be an awesome sight when they are finished!!!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/6914788.stm

The carriers will be huge and will be a great addition to our fleet. They will cost about £2 billion each but to put it into perspective they could build 6 for the price of the ID card scheme - I wonder which would be better for the country???

BigFella · 25 July 2007, 17:40

'bout time . . . . . 'nuff said

codprawn · 25 July 2007, 17:44

The NHS IT budget overspend is between 20 and 30 billion - that's 15 carriers!!!!!!!!!!!

Limey Linda · 25 July 2007, 19:41

Yup, long overdue. Great news. Take the money from the NHS. which is the most expensive and low quality healthcare system in the world.

donutsina911 · 25 July 2007, 20:23

Its great news but the Navy's had its soul ripped out because of these ships..the cuts in ff/dd and patrol vessels and sea harriers have all been to fund these things. Lets hope by 2014, there's been a change of government for the better, so there's some RN aircraft to put on these carriers.

Nick Thomas · 01 August 2007, 07:11

Aren't these designed to take the Eurofighter? And aren't those the aircraft that they can't afford to put any guns in?

In all, doesn't that mean the pilots will be reduced to flicking V's out the window at any target that comes their way???

donutsina911 · 01 August 2007, 14:01

nope, the Carriers will have replacement for the Sea Harrier - Joint Strike Fighter, F35 Lightning I think its called. By the time the goverment has pissed another XXX billion on ID Cards, useless IT systems and NHS managers, Id be surprised if we can afford to top them up with avgas let alone put weapons on them.

jyasaki · 01 August 2007, 15:59

Were the Brit's involved in the development of the JSF?

I seem to recall that British Aerospace and some French group were involved, but don't really remember.

Just wondering;

jky

donutsina911 · 01 August 2007, 17:10

Yep, there's quite a few UK contractors involved in the build - Rolls Royce are involved with engines in partnership with GE, Lockheed Martin and Pratt and Whitney. BAE systems have worked on the fuselage and most of the fit out mods for the RN and RAF are being done by UK companies.

codprawn · 01 August 2007, 22:27

I should imagine Martin Baker are building the ejection seats as they build most of the ones in the Western World. Nice to know a British company has saved so many lives!!!

"Martin-Baker Aircraft Company Limited is the world's leading producer of ejection seats. With 70,000 seats produced and 7,000 lives saved as of 2003, no one in the industry has more experience. Seats cost up to $150,000 each; they are made with the knowledge that one in ten of them will be used. The firm also supplies related safety equipment, such as life rafts.

Martin-Baker has remained family-owned throughout its existence. The company's main facilities are located in the English countryside; some of its World War II-vintage buildings once housed captured German aviators. Martin-Baker still flies a 1950s-era Meteor jet as a test bed.

Martin-Baker controls between 70 and 75 percent of the market for ejection seats for Western-made military aircraft. The U.S. Navy traditionally has been its single largest customer; in 2000 the company opened two plants in Pennsylvania"

codprawn · 01 August 2007, 22:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by donutsina911

Yep, there's quite a few UK contractors involved in the build - Rolls Royce are involved with engines in partnership with GE, Lockheed Martin and Pratt and Whitney. BAE systems have worked on the fuselage and most of the fit out mods for the RN and RAF are being done by UK companies.

Smiths Industries in the UK have done a lot of the avionics as well.

Biggles · 01 August 2007, 23:35

So we are getting two (French copies) Carriers and eventually we might get a fleet of super dooper aircraft. Wonderful.

Thats a freakin lot of money.

codprawn · 01 August 2007, 23:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by Biggles

So we are getting two (French copies) Carriers and eventually we might get a fleet of super dooper aircraft. Wonderful.

Thats a freakin lot of money.

Not compared to the waste that goes on - they can lose more than that in a failed IT upgrade!!!

donutsina911 · 02 August 2007, 09:36

Biggles, they're not French copies - the hull design was largely the work of QinetiQ and BAE Systems - in 2005, following discussions between the UK and French governments on the possibility of co-operation with the design of the next French carrier, the PA2, it was agreed that France would pay one-third of the costs of the demonstration phase of a common baseline design of carrier.

http://www.royal-navy.mod.uk/server/show/ConWebDoc.4590

Seems like money well spent, as Codders points out, compare it to the
£10 billion we collectively contribute to the Common Agricultural Policy or the billions on ID Cards, e-government, Private Finance Initiatives or most other government waste.

jyasaki · 02 August 2007, 16:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by codprawn

I should imagine Martin Baker are building the ejection seats

Any truth to the rumor that successful ejection survivors get a neck tie from Martin Baker?

jky

Limey Linda · 02 August 2007, 18:10

I believe so. Even the US Navy refer to an ejection as " doing a Martin Baker"
I used to deal with a guy who was the head of "new parachute system testing" out of China Lake, CA. He was a private contractor of course, and last I heard he was still alive. Try getting life insurance with that job. he was a complete nutter of course. Last test I remember we did with him was bailing out of a C130 @ 190 KAS at 30,000ft to make sure the canopy would handle the pressure and test the auto oxy. system. Note; all personell that have to jump from a decompressed aircraft get the next three days off with pay.