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andrewducker-
Over 80% of online PC gaming happens over Steam. Damn that's a lot!
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Fascinating that developed companies are leaping to electronic cash first.
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Date: 2010-10-19 11:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-10-19 11:21 am (UTC)You need two of them, though, because carriers are high-maintenance kit and spend about 30% of their time in dock being repaired/refitted. If you don't have two of the buggers, then you can't guarantee one will be available when you need it.
Another point to note: the current carriers date to the early 1970s and are, not to put too fine a point on it, knackered -- they were only designed for a 20-25 year life cycle -- and once you shut down a carrier force re-creating one and getting it up to operational capability takes the thick end of 20 years: a lot of specialist knowledge is lost.
The smart option would be to cancel the JSF/F35B purchase (the planes cost twice as much as the carriers themselves), fit them with catapults (already in the works for at least one of them), and buy either French Rafales or American F-18/B. Those are older, non-stealthy aircraft and less capable than the F35B, but they're a tiny fraction the price and are just as effective if your mission is to support western peacekeeping forces in failed states rather than duking it out with the Red Banner Fleet in the North Atlantic.
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Date: 2010-10-19 12:37 pm (UTC)It'd be funny if nothing else.
dommy_nick
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Date: 2010-10-19 02:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-10-19 03:09 pm (UTC)Aircraft choices
Date: 2010-10-19 06:01 pm (UTC)While there are plenty of F-18A/Bs sitting in the desert and going for cheaps (because they are clapped out), I assume that your finger slipped, and you meant new-build F-18E/Fs?
Breaking out of the F35 contract (can you afford the F-35As for the RAF either?) would annoy the Yanks, but their project management has been even worse than normal.
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Date: 2010-10-19 08:25 pm (UTC)Ah! So *that's* why they're scrapping the Ark Royal early.
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Date: 2010-10-20 03:01 pm (UTC)The RAF are losing the Nimrods and the Harriers -- both of which are useful to the Navy and the Army, but no very sexy if you're a Tornado or Typhoon jockey. They're keeping the Tornado bomber fleet, the Typhoons, and eventually getting to operate the F35B off the carriers, which is a net win if your service selectively promotes fast jet pilots.
Whether this makes any sense in the 21st century is another matter ...