Strong navy is crucial to see off Russian and Chinese threats says British Admiral 

As an Island Nation our Navy is absolutely essential.

Times radio went from declaring Putin can't win to dire proclaminations in less than a day

How're we going to revive shipbuilding at the same time as shutting down steel production and port Talbot?

You need ship building in the UK for resilence, technical capability, experienced workforce and scaleability. Fleet Auxiliaries need a defensive capability overseas manufacture unwise and balance of payments wise wasteful. Build capacity and enable capacity for overseas orders as well. Government said they want to build increased ship building capacity in UK they have to mean it and stick to it.

He'd hardly say anything else would he?? But lets take a good hard look at the problems, we no longer produce steel, we have no shipyards or drydocks, nor skilled workforce, we can't get crews, we have no overseas bases and Cameron is about to give away the most important Gibraltar, we no longer have a Merchant Navy and would starve in a conflict, but perhaps the greatest obstacle is time, if we ordered a new fleet today it will be years before it is delivered and ready, we are finished, face it.

The navy think it needs more big ships. Nooooo

Lord West was instrumental in cutting the Navy for the sake of aircraft carriers.

Given the number of MPs and Brexiteers with links to Russia, maybe we need a full Russia investigation first.

The conservative/liberal coalition from 2010 cut defence spending year after year. Under Labour we was spending upwards of 5% or 6%. Labour needs to have 4% on defence as a manifesto issue and actually campaign on that

Lord West is correct. The priority is to increase the size of the Royal Navy and the RAF. European NATO partners must provide the backbone of land forces. UK needs to get to 3% GDP by 2007. That's for starters.

What everyone seems to be missing is it’s okay to build your ships in uk. But where is the steel coming from. As far as I know we seem to have given all our steel industry away. 😊

Really old guy says 'things need to be more like it was when In was younger'. He might be right, but being an ex-Admiral does not change the fact that he is behind the times. What do current admirals think? Personally, I give them more credibility than some guy who does not have justify his choices.

Since 1970's British manufacturing has gone down hill. Shib building Nuclear power stations Aircraft All the thousands of jobs and the skill sets if generations have been lost. So design and build in our own country. Don't forget that roughly 30% of the money spent goes back to the government in tax, it doesn't if you pay somebody abroad.

NHS waiting lists are dangerous, nobody is invading us

15 years ? 30 years more like. I would have asked Lord West why the Type 22 frigates were disposed of without being replaced under the last Labour government ? Why the Type 45 order was halved, from 12 to 6 ships, under the last Labour government ? These reductions had implications not only for our defense but also for our ship building and steel industries that they have never recovered from. The same for many of our tank factories which shut under the last Labour government due to no new designs or orders being received. And of course government departments can't beat the Treasury. The Prime Minister is First Lord of the Treasury.

Reckon we are 40 years away from getting back our Navy, if we build ships and train fighting men...NO WE HAVENT CUT OUR NAVY IN THE PAST 15 YEARS...ITS BEEN AT LEAST 50 YEARS

Thoroughly RETIRED British Admiral says exactly what one might expect. Rain expected later. Cat found after massive local search. Wind variable.

Why bother we have lost this country already

Its the Banks putting in the money for Harland and Wolff. The government back the loan through UKEF. This will create 1000s jobs in Northern Island and create competition within the Brutish ship building industry.

The army and airforce also need to be strong, they hadn't better sub them out to foreign builders, we can't bake a cake anymore.

It will take this wee country 400 years to build up a Navy capable of invading Peru.

Jeez! Get a room!

Strong (and inexpensive) aerial and naval drone game

Gosh; that is incredibly insulting and flipant, that money saves a Nation NOT the principle or the rules of law on war matters. As much as saving peoples lives from total disaster death tolls.

Are the Navy going to mop the decks of both ships then?

Navies will go the way of horse cavalry unless someone can think up effective ways of preventing drone attacks.

The Ukrainian war and the vulnerability of Russia's black sea fleet to swarm drones both under and over the water has actually exposed naval power as highly vulnerable and potentially expired.

Ukraine has developed sea drone capabilities and strategies that did not exist 5 years ago, and this will continue. The game has changed, and capable ships have now become targets with compromised defenses

Not sure big ships are the answer since the Russians have developed small underwater drones which can take them out. As for the the US carriers, they would need to keep them south of Taiwan in any conflict with China, as the CCP have developed carrier killing missiles on their mainland coast.

Things don't grow over night. This is a problem of long term, stategic thinking of British Industry. Sadly its too late, things are going to be a mess if a war breaks out with Russia.

Wants a navy but doesn't want British people to have jobs

The Old heads, know

While the physical reasons that caused the RN to once be the worlds eminent - we are an island - have not changed, technology has moved on. Airpower, missles and counter EW are priority over navy hulls though more expensive. Ships are targets for missiles (Subs are fine) As a ignorant dirtsucker I fear the mistake we're making is building expensive ships that are viable missile targets - in small numbers with low economy of scale. If we want ships, we should have a large navy of hundreds of small, low value ships with only specialized or limited missile / counter missile / EW capacity for dispersal of targets and coverage that can be quickly replaced and do not represent a major event if lost, as opposed to expensive power projectors that are huge setbacks when damaged. The ships we are building take way way too long to design, construct, repair and service by which time the tech is always at risk of being outdated, plus price wise they have to compete cost / effective with ground and air forces. Alternative we need to be Much Much Much better at mass producing Navy platforms faster and cheaper and I don't see that happening. Honestly, right now we would be much stronger militarily if we ditched all the navy construction capacity and bought wholesale off America. They would then have more orders, more money, more economy of scale meaning all our ships would be better quality. Our pride prevents that.

That’s why we have yanks…

How much? 😁

No fear, the US Navy will continue to patrol and visit the Solent...

Our navy is so good our border is open to anyone!

What a load of twoddle.

Monty Python military led by Monty Python Defence Secretary Can't Shapps aka Michael Green - with a "pint-sized loser" PM.

Russia is the only country on the planet to lose a naval war to a country with no navy🤣

Why would Russia invade this septic isle? What could we possibly have that Russians would die for? Suggestions....

There are roughly 40 serving Admirals in the Royal Navy. Guess how many ships...

UK needs submarines, and quickly, Portsmouth Plymouth, Scotland can build ships

UK needs to spend money on its own people, not pretending its a serious military power any more.

UK needs too deploy their new Navy the dinggy divers 😂😂

How would you build the navy when you keep giving out money to Ukraine? The only way to stand up to China and Russia is to build and take care of your industry.

Is Britain going to start a military competition with Russia and China?

Excuse all the words weak up me the king. Of the est and the west king of Russia me. Only me. Bring it. Let it be. I am very busy

Its all missiles now , stop trying to spend truck loads of taxpayers money. Or are you commission led. ? R....

UK has 2 ski jump carriers. Garbage.