UK pretends it still has a navy; "Right wot's all this then", says Admiralty

[CountDeMoney]

Britain sending advanced warship to Falklands
By msnbc.com staff and news services



Britain's HMS Dauntless, touted as one of the most sophisticated warships in the world, will set sail to the disputed Falkland Islands in coming weeks in what the government called a routine operation.

The futuristic destroyer will replace the frigate HMS Montrose, the Ministry of Defense said on Tuesday. The deployment has long been planned but comes as tensions rise between Britain and Argentina over the status of the islands, which are a British dependency.

The Dauntless, armed with anti-aircraft and anti-ballistic capability, could "take out all of South America's fighter aircraft let alone Argentina's," one Navy source told the U.K.'s Telegraph.

The news comes shortly before Prince William, heir to the British throne, is due to arrive in the Falkland Islands as part of his air force training.

Foreign Secretary William Hague told Sky News that while HMS Dauntless's deployment is routine, the British ship "packs a very considerable punch."

A Royal Navy spokesman downplayed the $1 billion destroyer's deployment and rejected that it was a sign of escalation in the tensions between the two countries.

"The Royal Navy has had a continuous presence in the south Atlantic for many years. The deployment of HMS Dauntless to the south Atlantic has been long planned, is entirely routine and replaces another ship on patrol," he told the Guardian.

Last month, Argentina persuaded Brazil, Uruguay and Chile to join a Mercosur trade group resolution to turn away any ship flying the Falklands'flag — which depicts a sheep and a ship along with the United Kingdom's red, white and blue Union Jack.

Argentina claims sovereignty of the Falklands, 290 miles (460 kilometers) east of its coast. U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron has also recently stressed that the people of the Falklands must decide their own future and said Argentina is taking a colonialist approach to the islands' residents.

London's Foreign Office said Tuesday that junior minister Jeremy Browne will travel to the islands in June to mark the 30th anniversary of Britain's brief 1982 war with Argentina over the territory. Browne will be the first foreign minister to visit the Falklands since 2008. Prime Minister David Cameron's office said the British leader had no plans to visit.

Earlier this month, Britain announced that Prince Harry will visit Brazil in March as part of the U.K.'s effort to strengthen ties with Latin America.

[Ideologue]

The Dauntless, armed with anti-aircraft and anti-ballistic capability, could "take out all of South America's fighter aircraft let alone Argentina's," one Navy source told the U.K.'s Telegraph.

That's good stuff.

Couldn't they just say "Vanguard" and be done with it, though?

[Josquius]

That is an amusing quote, but a bit politically iffy to say the least!

[Monoriu]

The Dauntless, armed with anti-aircraft and anti-ballistic capability, could "take out all of South America's fighter aircraft let alone Argentina's," one Navy source told the U.K.'s Telegraph.

During its first major warfare sea exercise aboard HMS Daring the ship's Combat Management System crashed while under simulated air attack due to a power failure. The ship lost use of its combat management system, i.e. PAAMS. The ship's crew reverted to use of binoculars to spot incoming airborne threats until the CMS had been restarted.[4]

[Martinus]

There's only one thing left for Cameron to do - announce a poll tax and roll out the trial version in Scotland.

[Ed Anger]

What an ugly little ship.

[Razgovory]

I guess they contracted their navy out to the Daleks.

[Neil]

What an ugly little ship.

That's how they build them these days.

[Ed Anger]

I guess they contracted their navy out to the Daleks.

Reminds me of those French Suffern destroyers.



Ugly.

[Iormlund]

What an ugly little ship.

That's how they build them these days.

Yeah, all modern designs are very similar due to the phased arrays and stealth profile.

[Valdemar]

Could be worse IMHO. I think they did allright with our two new classes on the pic above. the support and command ship and the new frig

V

[Martinus]

Is the British public stupid enough to be distracted by this sabre-rattling from the financial cuts and unemployment?

[Valmy]

Is the British public stupid enough to be distracted by this sabre-rattling from the financial cuts and unemployment?

The financial cuts and unemployment have been going on for four years now.  If this is a plan to distract them it is a little late.  Why the sudden boil with rage and froth over the rather bland and uninteresting current Brit government?

[Admiral Yi]

The question also presupposes that budget cuts are something that require distracting from.

[Richard Hakluyt]

What budget cuts? I see no budget cuts