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Saturday, October 10, 2020

A Navy of One?

The first British carrier strike group reformed since Britain retired their smaller carriers is coming online:

HMS Queen Elizabeth will sail with HMS Kent, HMS Defender, HMS Diamond, HMS Northumberland, RFA Tideforce, RFA Fort Victoria, Dutch Frigate HNLMS Evertsen, American Destroyer USS The Sullivans and an unnamed British nuclear submarines.

The vessels will participate in the UK’s Carrier Strike Group exercise (GROUPEX) and Joint Warrior 20-2 (JW202).

I suppose that is good. It would have been great in the post-Cold War world of power projection missions against small powers.

But I have my doubts that putting nearly all of Britain's defense capabilities into one strike group in the era of great power competition is a good idea.