The Wider View: The biggest submarines ever built in Britain
The UK armed forces conventional weapons and personnel are been reduced at an alarming rate with more to come.
Is it now time for the UK to scrap its nuclear weapons and concentrate on building up its its fleet of aircraft, ships etc.
The UK is no longer a world power and through apathetic governments its defence forces have been slashed in numbers with even more reliance on the US.
In an ideal world I would love the UK to have replacement for Trident, aircraft carriers with huge air wings, a large air force with many squadrons of fighters, helicopters, transports etc. and a large army with all the resources it needs but this is never going to happen.
Currently the military seems to be heading towards 3 or 4 SBLM submarines and very limited conventional forces which if the UK wants to still be active contributor around the world is not the way to go but a large conventional force could be of real use.
They are the biggest submarines ever built in Britain - and the most technologically advanced in the world. HMS Astute and HMS Ambush are the Royal Navy's first two Astute Class nuclear-powered subs. Each is 318ft long and will displace 7,400 tons of water... as much as 62 blue whales.
Cameron And Sarkozy Sign Deal On Defence
Cameron And Sarkozy Sign Deal On Defence
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10:30pm UK, Tuesday November 02, 2010
Alison Chung and Miranda Richardson, Sky News Online
Prime Minister David Cameron and French president Nicolas Sarkozy have agreed to share troops, aircraft carriers and nuclear testing facilities.
In signing two new treaties, the pair pledged a new era of collaboration, tying British and French forces together for decades to come in order to save cash.
At an Anglo-French summit in London they agreed:
:: Co-ordination of aircraft carriers to ensure there is always a British or French vessel available for joint operations.
:: The creation of a Combined Joint Expeditionary Force training British and French troops to deploy on operations together.
:: The development of a new nuclear testing facility at the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston and its French counterpart at Valduc.
:: Co-operation on the development of new unmanned aerial drones, satellite communications and submarine technology.
Speaking at the summit, the two leaders said citizens of both countries would be "better protected" as a result.
Mr Cameron denied the agreement was about weakening sovereignty, saying: "This is not about a European army. This is not about sharing our nuclear deterrents.
"Britain and France are and will always remain sovereign nations able to deploy our armed forces independently and in our national interests when we choose to do so."
He added: "It is about defending our national interest. It is about practical, hard-headed co-operation between two sovereign countries."
If you, my British friends, have to face a major crisis, could you imagine France simply sitting there, its arms crossed, saying that it's none of our business?
French president Nicolas Sarkozy
Mr Sarkozy said: "We are not identical, there are many things on which we don't agree and I know that there is the Channel between our two countries.
"However, our values are the same, we share the same values, our interests are fair. All my political life I have argued in favour of rapprochement between London and Paris."
He added: "If you, my British friends, have to face a major crisis, could you imagine France simply sitting there, its arms crossed, saying that it's none of our business?"
The agreement comes as both countries try to cut the cost of their armed forces.
Mr Cameron announced two weeks ago that Britain's defence budget will be slashed by 8% over the next four years as the Government tackles the deficit.
Downing Street has insisted defence co-operation with France is based on a "hard-headed and practical assessment" of the UK's national interest.
Shadow defence secretary Jim Murphy said he supported international co-operation but added: "Interdependence, however, is different from dependence, and binding legal treaties pose some big questions for the Government.
"We know British aircraft carriers won't have a strike force on them for a decade.
"Is (the) treaty going to usher in an era where we are reliant on our allies to fill in the gaps in the Government's defence policy?"
But the Chief of the Defence Staff, General Sir David Richards, insisted: "This is a bilateral arrangement. It doesn't mean that we won't have everything that we have got today.
"Where we will pool with the French is where it makes military sense and where there is a political mandate to do so.
"It doesn't mean that we're automatically only going to be able to things with the French."
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