"The British Royal Navy's Ships Will Be Sitting Ducks..." Topic

…In the 2020s.

"Britain could see years without one if it retires the Harpoon in the 2020s

Right now, the Royal Navy's main surface-to-surface anti-ship weapon is the over-the-horizon Harpoon missile, which is also the primary equivalent weapon in service with the U.S. Navy since 1977. Back then, the missile soon became a workhorse that provided considerable range compared to other anti-ship weapons at the time.

With the advent of new Chinese and Russian anti-ship missiles proliferating around the world, however, that is no longer the case. And unlike the U.S. Navy, the Royal Navy will be without Harpoons or a replacement for them within a few years, turning its ships into sitting ducks…"
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Amicalement
Armand

Really? I don't think so.

Not having a viable ASM only means you can't counter-attack with one.

They do have fairly good defensive systems, though there is no perfect one at this time…

"Really? I don't think so."

That told him :)

I generally consider anything that can't shoot back a sitting duck.

Surely it depends on the roles they intend the RN to take on? I mean, the RN is definitely not the sort of large fleet-in-being that can provide real overseas power projection… because it doesn't need to be.

There's an interesting alternative view at Thin Pinstriped Line; e.g. link

@PMC317: How much of the UK's food and consumer goods come from overseas?

What would happen if someone with a sufficiently large fleet decided to sink every cargo ship going to the UK?

That's why an island nation needs a Navy.