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Army, Navy, RAF severe cuts

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gary1701
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Re: Army, Navy, RAF severe cuts

Post by gary1701 » Tue Sep 08, 2020 10:44 am

TonyO wrote:
Mon Sep 07, 2020 10:36 pm
Just to bring this up to date, but the whole question of whether JHC will move Apaches from Wattisham has been quietly answered in the latest edition of Soldier Magazine.

It states: "THE Army executive committee has confirmed there will be no change to the current basing of Apache attack helicopters, ending years of uncertainty for personnel and their families. As a result, 7 Regiment, Army Air Corps will stay at Middle Wallop while 3 and 4 Regiments, Army Air Corps and 7 (Aviation Support) Battalion, REME will remain at Wattisham Flying Station."
Hi Tony,

That was released in late July. A letter was sent by OC 1st Aviation Brigade to all personnel, civil servants and civilian contractors at Wattisham and presumably Middle Wallop. There is a slight change though as currently CTT training is done at Wallop and CTR at Wattisham. I'm told that there will be one more WAH-64 course under that arrangement and then both CTT and CTR will be conducted at Middle Wallop. I'm not sure but this may be the last WAH-64 course before switching to the Echo model. OC Wattisham has stated that the Echo will arrive in the UK late this year but not sure if he was referring to Wattisham specifically or not. I assume the first arrivals will have to go to Wallop for CTT training.

Although Wattisham being confirmed as the front line base was only made public in July, that outcome has been obvious for some time, as Boeing had moved in a while ago and some of the long delayed infrastructure upgrades have been started.

Gary
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TonyO
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Re: Army, Navy, RAF severe cuts

Post by TonyO » Tue Sep 08, 2020 11:05 am

Thanks Gary, was not aware of that, the news has not been more widely distributed. When you say Boeing has moved in, is that for training and support of the aircraft?
First Echo models were due in July, but this has been pushed back to year-end and I suspect will probably end up nudging into early 2021.
You want the Aladeen news, or the Aladeen news?

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Re: Army, Navy, RAF severe cuts

Post by gary1701 » Tue Sep 08, 2020 12:07 pm

Hi Tony,

Not sure the specifics of what Boeing have moved in, haven't been on the base for a while, but their presence had been confirmed by numerous sources. I did try and find out the status of simulators for the AH-64E some time back, as that would have been a indication as too how the basing would go, but everything I heard was contradictory, I was told the AH-64E simulator was in at Wattisham by one source, then the opposite by somebody else. I never believed that Wattisham would close, even if it had of lost it's AH units, and another use would have been found for it. One of the RSM's told me that was his thinking about a year or so ago. There's a certain lodger facility on the base that has a very low profile that would certainly have stayed regardless!

When they installed a new radar head earlier this year on Wattisham to replace the unreliable off base feed (it came from Honington!) and started some of the welfare upgrades to the infrastructure that was the tipping point as far as I was concerned. There's even talk of giving the runway some tender loving care..!

Gary
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Re: Army, Navy, RAF severe cuts

Post by toom317 » Tue Sep 08, 2020 6:23 pm

You do know that a sure sign of an airfield closing, is that a shitload of building, upgrades and improvements are made, prior to the announcement it is closing. :lol:
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Re: Army, Navy, RAF severe cuts

Post by gary1701 » Tue Sep 08, 2020 6:42 pm

toom317 wrote:
Tue Sep 08, 2020 6:23 pm
You do know that a sure sign of an airfield closing, is that a shitload of building, upgrades and improvements are made, prior to the announcement it is closing. :lol:
Yeah, I know the joke...remember it well from Bentwaters and Woodbridge with the work there in the lead up to closure. Bottom line is nowhere is truly safe, regardless of what the current plans are. That applies as much to Wattisham now as it does to the bases that are currently believed to be secure with long term futures, like Coningsby, Waddington or even Lossiemouth.

Gary
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Re: Army, Navy, RAF severe cuts

Post by roughcutter » Wed Sep 09, 2020 4:09 pm

gary1701 wrote:
Tue Sep 08, 2020 6:42 pm
toom317 wrote:
Tue Sep 08, 2020 6:23 pm
You do know that a sure sign of an airfield closing, is that a shitload of building, upgrades and improvements are made, prior to the announcement it is closing. :lol:
Yeah, I know the joke...remember it well from Bentwaters and Woodbridge with the work there in the lead up to closure. Bottom line is nowhere is truly safe, regardless of what the current plans are. That applies as much to Wattisham now as it does to the bases that are currently believed to be secure with long term futures, like Coningsby, Waddington or even Lossiemouth.

Gary
I think there was still building work going on at Heyford after it had closed in 94

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Re: Army, Navy, RAF severe cuts

Post by TonyO » Wed Sep 09, 2020 9:17 pm

toom317 wrote:
Tue Sep 08, 2020 6:23 pm
You do know that a sure sign of an airfield closing, is that a shitload of building, upgrades and improvements are made, prior to the announcement it is closing. :lol:
I am not sure there are enough airfields left for that rule to apply anymore.
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Re: Army, Navy, RAF severe cuts

Post by burleysway » Thu Nov 19, 2020 7:24 am

Boris Johnson to end 'era of retreat' with £24bn Armed Forces spending pledge
Prime Minister will restore Royal Navy to Europe's most powerful maritime force with largest military investment in 30 years.

Boris Johnson has promised "an end to the era of retreat" for Britain's Armed Forces with a £24 billion spending increase that marks the biggest financial boost since the Cold War.

The Prime Minister pledged to restore the Royal Navy to its position as Europe's most powerful maritime force and will invest heavily in drones, cyber warfare and space programmes.

Mr Johnson said he had made the decision "in the teeth of the pandemic because the defence of the realm must come first".

Downing Street said 40,000 jobs would be created over the course of the four-year settlement, which gives the Armed Forces an extra £16.5 billion. That is on top of the 2019 manifesto pledge to increase spending by 0.5 per cent above inflation every year.

It means the Prime Minister and Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary, have won a lengthy battle with the Treasury to release the funds despite hundreds of billions being spent on the coronavirus response.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/20 ... -spending/


With increasing threats from China and Russia, Mr Johnson said Britain must "stand alongside our allies" in a phrase that appeared fashioned for the ears of US president-elect Joe Biden. The extra money will cement Britain's place as Europe's biggest spender on defence and the second biggest in Nato after the US.

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Re: Army, Navy, RAF Increased Spending

Post by plmc135 » Thu Nov 19, 2020 9:32 am

Looks like the title of this topic needs to be changed :clap:

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Re: Army, Navy, RAF severe cuts

Post by baz1 » Thu Nov 19, 2020 9:49 am

TonyO wrote:
Wed Sep 09, 2020 9:17 pm
toom317 wrote:
Tue Sep 08, 2020 6:23 pm
You do know that a sure sign of an airfield closing, is that a shitload of building, upgrades and improvements are made, prior to the announcement it is closing. :lol:
I am not sure there are enough airfields left for that rule to apply anymore.
well in that case I guess Waddington will close?
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Re: Army, Navy, RAF severe cuts

Post by Ross Forsyth » Thu Nov 19, 2020 10:27 am

toom317 wrote:
Tue Sep 08, 2020 6:23 pm
You do know that a sure sign of an airfield closing, is that a shitload of building, upgrades and improvements are made, prior to the announcement it is closing. :lol:
Oh no Lossie :D

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Re: Army, Navy, RAF severe cuts

Post by tornado17 » Thu Nov 19, 2020 11:28 am

I haven't seen the whole review yet but I'm fearful that something might have to be sacrificed to pay for all of the drones, cyber warfare and space programmes. I hope I'm wrong!!

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Re: Army, Navy, RAF severe cuts

Post by page_verify » Thu Nov 19, 2020 11:57 am

The news articles show this is new money for new things, the MoD will still need to chop capabilities to pay for existing funding holes.....

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Re: Army, Navy, RAF severe cuts

Post by CHINOOKER » Thu Nov 19, 2020 12:02 pm

Looks as though the Royal Navy will benefit most with new Destroyers/Frigates etc,especially as we now need protection for the "Flat Tops" when on deployment!. MoD still has a £13bn black hole to fill,and apparently much of this is going to have to come from existing resources and capabilities!. Still a lot of "Defence Estate" lying idle/partially used around the country, although many of these places may not be in ideal positions regarding alternative uses etc.

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Re: Army, Navy, RAF severe cuts

Post by Finty » Thu Nov 19, 2020 2:55 pm

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Re: Army, Navy, RAF severe cuts

Post by RubyRoo » Thu Nov 19, 2020 3:54 pm

No idea what some of you think you have just read.

None of this new money is being invested in our conventional forces. Nor is it plugging the still rather large black hole in the defence budget.

The RAF, Navy and Army still face severe cuts.

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Re: Army, Navy, RAF severe cuts

Post by Mister G » Thu Nov 19, 2020 5:38 pm

I gather that the standing up of the new Space Command has been delayed until they can find a milk bottle big enough to launch the rockets from!

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Re: Army, Navy, RAF severe cuts

Post by Mr Burns » Fri Nov 20, 2020 3:38 pm

tornado17 wrote:
Thu Nov 19, 2020 11:28 am
I haven't seen the whole review yet but I'm fearful that something might have to be sacrificed to pay for all of the drones, cyber warfare and space programmes. I hope I'm wrong!!
This will be exactly true.
Yes there is a huge increase in spending. But over 4years. Not a permanent increase.

Plus none of that money will be put to manpower. It will be on modernisation and infrastructure.
Cuts will be made across the forces to make room for all the new tech and jobs that are created.

It happened when we had the increase for the P-8's.
Yes we gained jobs and roles at lossie. But other trades had to take hits in manpower to make space for them

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Re: Army, Navy, RAF severe cuts

Post by Enobob » Sun Nov 22, 2020 3:06 pm

RubyRoo wrote:
Thu Nov 19, 2020 3:54 pm
No idea what some of you think you have just read.

None of this new money is being invested in our conventional forces. Nor is it plugging the still rather large black hole in the defence budget.

The RAF, Navy and Army still face severe cuts.
No idea what YOU thought you just heard!

Did you listen to the PM's speech? The speech in which he specifically referred to such conventional weapons as the new Type 32 Frigate, confirmed order quantities of 8 for the Type 26 Frigate and the 5 for the Type 31 Frigate, confirmed the new Solid Support Ships and new multi-role research vessels, confirmed permanent forward basing overseas?

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Re: Army, Navy, RAF severe cuts

Post by page_verify » Sun Nov 22, 2020 4:12 pm

Enobob wrote:
Sun Nov 22, 2020 3:06 pm
RubyRoo wrote:
Thu Nov 19, 2020 3:54 pm
No idea what some of you think you have just read.

None of this new money is being invested in our conventional forces. Nor is it plugging the still rather large black hole in the defence budget.

The RAF, Navy and Army still face severe cuts.
No idea what YOU thought you just heard!

Did you listen to the PM's speech? The speech in which he specifically referred to such conventional weapons as the new Type 32 Frigate, confirmed order quantities of 8 for the Type 26 Frigate and the 5 for the Type 31 Frigate, confirmed the new Solid Support Ships and new multi-role research vessels, confirmed permanent forward basing overseas?

For some reason Enobob, the PM only decided to mention the positive news. The newspapers had a more balanced view:


Defence analysts have welcomed the settlement as more generous than expected. However, given the parlous state of the ministry’s finances, including a funding black hole of up to £13 billion in its current ten-year equipment plan, the money will not plug all the gaps and cuts are expected.

Ben Zaranko, of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, the economic research institute, said the prime minister’s presentation of the deal was “misleading”.

He told the BBC that it was better described as £7 billion of new money for the annual defence budget by 2024-25, rather than £16.5 billion.

Military insiders say that the army will lose out in the overhaul, with biting cuts expected for heavy armour programmes, including tanks, and a drop in personnel numbers that could result in fewer than 70,000 regular soldiers.

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