Friend of mine was serving on HMS Liverpool when it was "engaged" by Libyan land forces back in 2011 resulting in the RN using its main gun for the first time in ages.
His version of being "engaged" is very different from what the history books say - any excuse to pop off a few shells. Apparently the ship won that particular fight, bearing in mind that the other side's rounds were falling short by a few miles... ;o)
Gunz
Member
Dovebiker, only a third of units are meant to be available at any one time. One deployed, one just returned and in re-fit and the other training up to deploy.
Yup, but that in a nutshell is why 6 really expensive state of the art boats, isn't that useful. But that's the navy way, we need to have the shiniest and the best regardless of whether that's actually useful for the role.
(aside; every time a new round of commissioning comes up, it turns out that the government and MOD simultaneously believe 2 things- one, that our needs can't be met by any ships anyone else makes and two, that once we design this ship to do a job that's apparently so different from what every other navy wants, we'll still be able to sell it to other people with different needs)
(aside; every time a new round of commissioning comes up, it turns out that the government and MOD simultaneously believe 2 things- one, that our needs can’t be met by any ships anyone else makes and two, that once we design this ship to do a job that’s apparently so different from what every other navy wants, we’ll still be able to sell it to other people with different needs)
standard in the MOD. I remember using a load of kit with the SF boys years ago and it was lovely, it was effectively off the shelf kit, slightly modified (radios, anti-mine type things) and helmets and armour. In true MOD style, once it's been trialled and accepted, the MOD tell the manufacturer to change the entire spec and triple its cost and reduce it's functionality.
About the only time the MOD have ever been able to get good kit without all the bull, was around 2006/7 onwards when UOR (urgent operational requirements) were thrown around then all manner of kit crops up that actually worked (designed and built in a fraction of the normal procurement time) and didn't cost a fortune..
