Last Friday was Trafalgar Day and it was marked by a Russian aircraft carrier battle group passing through the English Channel. Vladimir Putin has invested heavily in his navy and he’s calculated that the Americans have re-balanced in favour of their Pacific Fleet leaving the Atlantic and Mediterranean for him. This leaves some important questions for the UK to answer about what sort of navy we require to protect ourselves and our interests around the globe.
You see, the Type 45 destroyer that tracked the Russian fleet through the Channel is one of the world’s most advanced battleships – easily more capable than anything the Russians have - but we only have six of them. We’re also about to replace our current fleet of 13 Type 23 Frigates with only 8 Type 26s. Granted, the Type 26 will, like the Type 45, be the best in its class but there will only be eight of them and a ship can only be in one place at one time.
To protect our new carriers, two of our destroyers and two of our frigates will be needed for each of them at all times. So when we have just one carrier group at sea, the Royal Navy will be left with four destroyers and six frigates to protect our interests at home and abroad. Divide that up between training, refit and repair, protecting the Falklands, counter-piracy off Somalia, counter-narcotics in the Caribbean, humanitarian work in the Mediterranean, the need to defend our own coast and much more besides; and things start to feel pretty shaky.
A navy the size of Nelson’s is not necessary but, right now, a few more ships seems pretty essential.