A wingless Navy

By Jason Moore THE Royal Navy officially has three aircraft carriers but there is only one problem...it no longer has any planes! This week the last of its Sea Harrier aircraft were scrapped leaving the RN without any fixed wing aircraft of its own for at least 10 years. In probably one of the most stupid military spending cuts (and there have been many) the government decided to rid the Navy of its Harriers. The Royal Navy has been given a batch of second-hand RAF Harriers which are designed for ground attack duties and therefore not as potent as the Sea Harrier which proved such a success during the Falkland war. At the heart of British Defence thinking at the moment is the ability to be able to deploy anywhere in the world but without the Sea Harrier, this is just nonsense. Over the last 20 years it has been said on a number of occasions that Britain wouldn't be able to carry out an operation similar to the Falklands. It wouldn't full stop. Keeping the Sea Harrier would have cost about the same as maintaining the small fleet of private jets which are earmarked for use by the government and the Royal Family. The scandalous run-down of the British armed services over the last decade has left the RAF, the British Army and the Royal Navy probably in its worst condition ever and this comes at a time when Britain's military is deployed in at least two world military hot spots. If the British government wants the Royal Navy to be one of the world's policemen then perhaps it should give it a bit more than just a truncheon and a whistle.