Trying to talk about any navy without talking about the state that owns the navy is ridiculous. The RN makes sense within the context of the UK, a middle power accustomed to both peace and a total lack of long-term planning. The RN can, if it so desires, go from anywhere in the world to leveling every hospital and school in Yemeniraqistan in as little as 90 days. It can also do a decent job of interdicting non-state naval piracy in the Indian Ocean or intercepting sanctioned civilian shipping in the North Atlantic and Med. That’s about it.
If you want to establish a trade deal with an African country at cannon-point or patrol even a tiny bit of the GIUK gap, the way to do that that the past 20+ years of government agree on is to go begging to the USA. And, if you think about it, handing over unlimited use of our two carriers (note: not supers) is an excellent way of paying them for exactly those services.
What Navy in the world doesn’t?
Even the US will have bigger ambitions than the current assets.
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Trying to talk about any navy without talking about the state that owns the navy is ridiculous. The RN makes sense within the context of the UK, a middle power accustomed to both peace and a total lack of long-term planning. The RN can, if it so desires, go from anywhere in the world to leveling every hospital and school in Yemeniraqistan in as little as 90 days. It can also do a decent job of interdicting non-state naval piracy in the Indian Ocean or intercepting sanctioned civilian shipping in the North Atlantic and Med. That’s about it.
If you want to establish a trade deal with an African country at cannon-point or patrol even a tiny bit of the GIUK gap, the way to do that that the past 20+ years of government agree on is to go begging to the USA. And, if you think about it, handing over unlimited use of our two carriers (note: not supers) is an excellent way of paying them for exactly those services.
What Navy in the world doesn’t?
Even the US will have bigger ambitions than the current assets.