Royal Navy frigate fleet may be expanded hints Defence Secretary
Just had a quick read thru the article in the link above. The bit that got me was the final paragraph...
"Tony Douglas, the Chief Executive Officer of DE&S, said,
“The Type 31e programme will drive the change that is needed through the entire system, because we have set tough time and cost constraints.
The collective challenge for DE&S and industry is to deliver Type 31e in a different, more innovative way than has gone before. I want this to be a transformation in the way we do business – not just in ships and acquisition but across the entire defence equipment and support portfolio.”
This sort of statement often make me wonder how the UK National Shipbuilding fraternity has managed to survive. It leaves me with the impression that we're going on to build empty tin boxes that float, not complex warships.
Purely because someone says we need transformation & that we need tough time & cost constraints, doesn't mean that the end product will be better or do what is required at the time it is needed most.
Simplification, making things cheaper & building them faster for less costs, may help the overall bottom line, but it doesn't address the fact that if we build something properly, to do a specific task (Such as ASW frigates), to achieve the quality, funds & time are required, which is often expensive & time consuming, the complete opposite of fast n cheap.
Just had a quick read thru the article in the link above. The bit that got me was the final paragraph...
"Tony Douglas, the Chief Executive Officer of DE&S, said,
“The Type 31e programme will drive the change that is needed through the entire system, because we have set tough time and cost constraints.
The collective challenge for DE&S and industry is to deliver Type 31e in a different, more innovative way than has gone before. I want this to be a transformation in the way we do business – not just in ships and acquisition but across the entire defence equipment and support portfolio.”
This sort of statement often make me wonder how the UK National Shipbuilding fraternity has managed to survive. It leaves me with the impression that we're going on to build empty tin boxes that float, not complex warships.
Purely because someone says we need transformation & that we need tough time & cost constraints, doesn't mean that the end product will be better or do what is required at the time it is needed most.
Simplification, making things cheaper & building them faster for less costs, may help the overall bottom line, but it doesn't address the fact that if we build something properly, to do a specific task (Such as ASW frigates), to achieve the quality, funds & time are required, which is often expensive & time consuming, the complete opposite of fast n cheap.