Inter service rivalry tussles over future budgets with Army making suggestions that one of the QE carriers should be leased to the US.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... rs-US.htmlhttps://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/ ... avy-100382https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/top- ... -sgd7zmk3pIn a move that will cause uproar in the navy, army chiefs are pressing to mothball one of Britain’s new aircraft carriers — or lease it to the Americans. Navy chiefs, in turn, have joined forces with the army to press for the RAF to see a cut in manpower.
One source said: “The army hates the aircraft carriers, which they have always seen as white elephants, but the Americans love them. They’re cutting-edge because they can operate with far fewer crew than the US carriers.
“The army can’t recruit or retain the people it needs. Both the army and the navy think that the job of the RAF will soon be done by drones.”
The work is at an early stage but follows instructions from the defence secretary, Ben Wallace, that the armed forces must “cut their cloth” to the resources available.
He secured £2.2bn extra from the Treasury and has told it he will not “hollow out” the forces further but would prefer to cut capabilities and do a smaller number of things better.
Wallace has challenged the three service chiefs to focus on one priority. The army has been told to sort out recruitment or get no more kit. The navy was ordered to “get your ships working” and the chief of the air staff has been told to fix a shortfall of 250 pilots.
Wallace told navy chiefs the aircraft carriers could be deployed with US aircraft or escorted by Nato ships from other countries to cut costs.
The defence secretary is not thought to be aware of the full scope of the discussions, which have stepped up since the election campaign began, and oppose a smaller army. But a source said: “While ministers are away fighting the election, a lot of thinking has been going on.”
Defence sources say the shape of the changes might depend on who succeeds General Sir Nick Carter as the chief of the defence staff, an appointment that is expected to be made next year.
The cuts to the army are most likely if the first sea lord, Admiral Tony Radakin, wins the race, while the carriers are at greater risk if Sir Mark Carleton-Smith, the chief of the general staff, gets the job.
The navy has not had a chief of the defence staff since 2003, a period in which the army has held the post four times and the RAF twice.