Whilst I think you make an excellent point about divesting away from being centred on the South coast (Faslane notwithstanding), I don't think the Royal Navy can afford to wait for Type 31 to enter service. This has to be done as soon as possible, for no other reason than to start the regeneration of these long-neglected facilities. Vessels based on the East coast would be in a good position to intercept Russian ships leaving the Baltics, deploying via the Channel to areas such as the Mediterranean.
I think the bigger headache is going to be a combination of reintegrating the Royal Navy into areas long since abandoned, and convincing families of those sent 'Up North' to relocate in sufficient numbers to make it a going concern.
I agree, there’s no reason we shouldn’t start now: ideally by relocating a Batch 1 or MCMV to the area. This would build on the existing work carried out by P2000s, who are regularly conducting joint ops with Scandinavian and Baltic partners from bases on the east coast.
https://open.substack.com/pub/thebluearmchair/p/slouching-towards-bethlehem?r=5kmhkr&utm_medium=ios
Whilst I think you make an excellent point about divesting away from being centred on the South coast (Faslane notwithstanding), I don't think the Royal Navy can afford to wait for Type 31 to enter service. This has to be done as soon as possible, for no other reason than to start the regeneration of these long-neglected facilities. Vessels based on the East coast would be in a good position to intercept Russian ships leaving the Baltics, deploying via the Channel to areas such as the Mediterranean.
I think the bigger headache is going to be a combination of reintegrating the Royal Navy into areas long since abandoned, and convincing families of those sent 'Up North' to relocate in sufficient numbers to make it a going concern.
Thanks for the feedback!
I agree, there’s no reason we shouldn’t start now: ideally by relocating a Batch 1 or MCMV to the area. This would build on the existing work carried out by P2000s, who are regularly conducting joint ops with Scandinavian and Baltic partners from bases on the east coast.