in International Situations, Military, War 374 Words

UK: Money Well Spent

I have gone on and on about the amount of cash the US is wasting on useless crap…..like a gas station in Afghanistan……and especially the F-35 which has not worked as promise…..if anything it is at best a “flying brick”….

It appears that the US is not the only country that wastes the taxpayer’s money….the UK navy has a new destroyer, a 21st century destroyer, to lead their navy into the wars of the future…..slight problem has been found…..

Crew members in the British Royal Navy keep coming up against a pesky, possibly dangerous Achilles’ heel as their $1.4 billion warships cruise through the Persian Gulf: warm waters. Water temps there can hit 90 degrees Fahrenheit, and that’s causing the ships to lose power, CNN reports. During a Defense Committee meeting Tuesday, MPs interrogated company execs about the Type 45 destroyers—said to be the country’s most advanced warships ever and expected to last at least two more decades—and their assessments were less than encouraging. A director from ship designer Rolls-Royce—which claims it was never informed the 8,000-ton ships would sail for long periods in such warm waters, per the Mirror—says that equipment is struggling to perform in “far more arduous conditions [than] were initially required,” resulting in “total electrical failure.”

The Sun explains what causes the ships to turn into “sitting ducks”: There are two turbines on each ship that redistribute exhaust heat back to the engine, but in too-warm waters the turbines slow down; a “domino effect” leads to engine shutdown and, eventually, a complete power outage. Reaction in Parliament was mainly astonishment. “I’m just absolutely stunned,” one MP said. “It’s a [$1.4 billion] asset that you’re putting into perhaps a war zone, and we don’t know if these people … will go in there and come back out alive because there might be a problem with the power system on the ship.” Britain’s Defense Ministry takes issue with these malfunction claims. “The Type 45 was designed for world-wide operations, from sub-Arctic to extreme tropical environments, and continues to operate effectively in the Gulf and the South Atlantic all year round,” a rep tells CNN.

Money well spent!

See idiocracy spans the pond….only the best for the troops, huh?

20 thoughts on “UK: Money Well Spent”

  2. Too bad we aren’t at war with them again, yet, we could just drop our brick on their sitting duck and be done with that war. …..sigh….. ~~dru~~

    Although, all kidding aside, both the brick and the duck make my blood boil with i think of the troops, the human beings sent to defend their countries with sub standard equipment which goes far beyond just these two monstrosities.

    Reply

      1. Also, they may continue to get $$$ cuz Now it has to be FIXED. Although having known a race car designer in my youth; designer’s are a weird breed and mostly genius to boot, even the ones who make mistakes. ~~dru~~
        No one is purrfect.

      2. The money paid for this duck or the brick should guarantee its working properly….if not then they fix it at their cost….money has been paid….

      3. Oooo i doubt it, not that the money has been paid but that they won’t get paid more. You read their excuse; “…. A director from ship designer Rolls-Royce—which claims it was never informed the 8,000-ton ships would sail for long periods in such warm waters, per the Mirror—”…..Sneaky!
        ~~dru~~

  5. I was going to comment, but, this is such monumental stupidity, on every level, I couldn’t come up with anything sarcastic enough….

    Really, really, monumentally stupid. Golly, to think they wanted a warship that can sail anywhere without losing power, and didn’t say so when ordering it up….. How droll….

    gigoid, the dubious

    Reply

  6. Classic rookie research/design mistake!
    Know the environment you’re designing too … prior to the design phase.

    So, I’m in direct dispute of Britain’s Defense Ministry comments.

    Lets play out this hand: I see their comments and TRUMP them with my Electronic Engineering Technology design background.

    Reply

  7. Jets that can barely fly. Ships that struggle to stay afloat. It’s a good thing neither nation is fighting an enemy capable of fighting back in any significant way. Otherwise, there would be problems.

    Reply

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