I’m a former submarine – Here’s the new British nuclear fleet you need to know

During the Cold War, Britain had a fleet of submarines in a short time after the collapse of the Soviet Empire: strategic deterrence, Hunter Killer Fleet Ships and Diesel Submarine Fleet.

We can say that we can act independently on any battlefield around the world – independent and with our allies.

However, after the end of the Cold War, political decisions were made, assuming that we no longer need the power of this ability. Peace has been won.

We swept all the diesel submarines with a political pen. We reduced the number of SSNs (nuclear-powered attack submarines) from the combined forces of the 13 Swiftsure and Trafalgar classes, replacing SSNs (total number) with very effective but limited keen classes (7 in total); we cut coastal support, which will allow us to occupy longer vessels at sea. Our stop to invest will support our submarines and provide decent homes for our submarines.

The numbers are important – it is a stark and irrefutable fact. From the early days of the past decade, it has become self-evident that people have a revival of Russia. The military has known for a lot of time, and the submarines have never believed that the Cold War is over.

Unfortunately, most politicians think it is impossible to accept internal briefings and the truth of obvious facts. In fact, we need to make major steps in re-armoring and improving our fleet capabilities for more than a decade or more.

Therefore, the intention of this week’s announcement is to procure 12 alternative SSNs for keen class vessels, a very welcome political recognition of military reality and may bring us in time to where we need to fulfill our needs to fulfill our needs at home, domestic, international and responsive.

Improvements in abilities are important – they put you at the forefront of war and be able to stand up in the most challenging arenas – but so are the original numbers. You can have the most capable ship in the world, but if you only have one, it is susceptible to mechanical failures or enemy actions. Only numbers can you have some kind of tactical resilience and be able to show that you can project maritime power and influence beyond your own boundaries.

Over the past few years, the Royal Navy has suffered from the lack of the well-known keen-class submarines. Although the reasons are complex, an important factor is the higher strategies adopted by the Ministry of Defense. Without a good cache of spare parts, conventional mechanical problems will become a performer of operation.

A fleet of seven SSNs provides some strategic resilience (but arguably not enough) to address international maritime needs. Once you have a submarine during a long maintenance period, two submarines during short maintenance, two during operation downturns, and one with short-term defects, you will soon run out completely.

When balanced with the above availability, prepare for the permanent operational needs of submarines in the home waters, and prepare for deployment to protect the interests of longer distances, and a potential support for carrier groups’ operations or NATO practices, which means there is no room for surge capacity or accidental action.

This new announcement must no Become a short-term political statement that cannot be achieved due to budget constraints. To provide our fleet with work to defend the country, we must have at least 12 Hunter Killer Submarines. Then, further discussions can be made on strengthening our strategic deterrent forces, as well as our other maritime, land and air defense products.

Putin’s sledgehammer finally destroyed Britain’s political nuts. Let us hope that we turn this intention into reality, sign contracts, and begin to restore our defense capabilities to a maritime environment that can properly block and protect our nation from increasingly risky risks.

David Bessell is a former Career Command-qualified submarine and is also a senior engineering manager for British Aerospace Submarine Systems