Defence chiefs warned against warship sales
BRITAIN will lose its ability to carry out major amphibious operations under cost-cutting plans being considered to sell off warships.
Naval officials in Chile and Brazil are reported to be lining up to buy two Royal Navy amphibious landing platform ships and Type 23 frigates after British officials told them they might be put up for sale next year.
The two nations have been told that warships including HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark could be made available as a result of cost-cutting plans being considered by the Forces, the defence journal Jane’s reported.
The Ministry of Defence last night strongly denied it would cut the Navy’s overstretched fleet of frigates, and said there had been “no engagement” with Chile or Brazil.
But naval sources confirmed senior officers had suggested cutting two frigates as one way of saving money. Retiring the two amphibious vessels is understood to be a key plank of costcutting proposals drawn up by the First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Philip Jones.
MPS and senior naval figures said HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark were vital to the Navy and their loss would leave Britain unable to carry out major amphibious operations.
Service chiefs met yesterday in London to discuss how to save up to a billion pounds this year and begin to make savings totalling £20 billion over the next decade.
HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark were only launched in the last decade and are believed to have around 30 years’ life left between them.
“These ships are almost new,” said one naval source. “It’s like having 12,000 miles on the clock.”
Major General Julian Thompson, a retired Royal Marines officer who
commanded 3 Commando Brigade during the Falklands War, said the ships were “absolutely vital”.
Without the ships, the Navy would be unable to land heavy equipment and armour on beaches, he said.
Major Gen Thompson said: “If you give this capability away, you can’t get it back in a hurry.”
He said other vessels, such as Royal Fleet Auxiliary support ships, which provided aid in the Caribbean, were “no substitute”.
Sir Michael Fallon, the Defence Secretary, faced repeated questioning from MPS on the sale when he appeared in front of the Commons defence committee. He dismissed the reports as “pure speculation” and said he had yet to receive any proposals from service chiefs on how to save money.
He said: “The threats have intensified in other domains apart from storming beaches.”
A senior Ministry of Defence source said that the sale of Type 23 frigates before they could be replaced next decade by new Type 26 warships “categorically won’t happen”.