In which case, four would be needed to support one extended mission and one on call, or for classical escort missions ... which the five spread across the EU at the moment would cover. After 2015, there would be the three light carriers for one extended mission and the amphibious assault vessels on call, acting a classical escorts, or other short-term tasks. I've been accused of being a Marxist, yet while Harpo's my favourite, it's Groucho I'm always quoting. Odd, that.
I mean, if the objective is to get a convoy from point A to point B without having it attacked by guys in rubber dinghys armed with rusty kalashnikovs... won't one to three perfectly ordinary non-aircraft-equipped ships suffice?
It's not like we'll be having running battles with pirates equipped with American destroyers or privateers in Chinese light cruisers... Not unless things get rather a lot nastier than they are now.
- Jake If you only spend 20 minutes of the rest of your life on economics, go spend them here.
