Purchase HMS Ocean?

[Pusser]

OCEAN doesn't need an additional crane to deploy its ramp.  It can embark many different types of helicopter, including Merlins (EH101) and Chinooks.  It can even land multiple Ospreys.

 

[OTR1]

Pass!

Agreed.

And by Baz....

She also only had a 20 year design life......from all accounts she was driven pretty hard and isn't in the best of shape.

Correct on both counts. A friend did a brief stint her last Oct (Nov?) and reports that she's very much showing her age.

And that wardroom bar was small, uncomfortable and generally utter crap.  [:'(

 

[Colin Parkinson]

And that wardroom bar was small, uncomfortable and generally utter crap.  [:'(

Well that's the final nail in the coffin of this idea  [lol:

 

[Colin Parkinson]

No. And that would force a third fleet upon us for no additional value.

We have already worked Griffons from Mistral.

If we go down the amphib route, I would want us to buy a Cyclone helicopter airframe without the ASW suite to use off of them to deal this that issue and training.

 

[Infanteer]

We have already worked Griffons from Mistral.

Yeah, but we'd need helicopters that could actually move something aside from a machine gun.

 

[Loachman]

I have never, ever been a fan of the LSVW of the helicopter world.

UH1Y or Black Hawk.

One does not want anything bigger for the utility role, for the same reason that one does not want 20-30-man APCs/IFVs for following tanks onto objectives.

 

[Old Sweat]

I have never, ever been a fan of the LSVW of the helicopter world.

UH1Y or Black Hawk.

One does not want anything bigger for the utility role, for the same reason that one does not want 20-30-man APCs/IFVs for following tanks onto objectives.

 

[daftandbarmy]

I have never, ever been a fan of the LSVW of the helicopter world.

UH1Y or Black Hawk.

One does not want anything bigger for the utility role, for the same reason that one does not want 20-30-man APCs/IFVs for following tanks onto objectives.

That's why I liked the Lynx/ Sea Lynx: the Sh&t off a shovel-copter

 

[ringo]

Don't we have 6 or 7 ex-us-101 that could be made airworthy for an Ocean air group?

 

[Colin Parkinson]

New airframes grounded by politics and lack of bits as I recall

 

[Baz]

Don't we have 6 or 7 ex-us-101 that could be made airworthy for an Ocean air group?

They are the ex VH-101 US VIP aircraft, bought after they cancelled the program, explicitly for parts for ours.  It might be more expensive to get them flying to then to get new ones...