Report: Cutbacks weakening British navy

LONDON, Jan. 4 (UPI) -- The British navy is shrinking and faces further funding cutbacks as its responsibilities remain, a military analyst says.

British Warships and Auxiliaries, an annual guide to the state of the British navy, said Monday that the service is "smaller than it has ever been in its history but the demands upon the few remaining ships remain as high as ever," The Times of London reported.

The newspaper said Steve Bush, the editor of the guide, has warned that the navy's surface warship and submarine fleets appear vulnerable as Britain focuses its military resources on Afghanistan.

"There are new ships coming through but the fleet has been pared back so much by the government that there are now not enough escort ships to protect the bigger vessels," Bush told The Times. "The government thinks that new ships are more capable and therefore you don't need so many of them, but the number of escort ships is being cut significantly."

"As for submarines," Bush said, "you need a critical mass to make them cost-effective because of the infrastructure required to maintain them."

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/International/2010/01/04/Report-Cutbacks-weakening-British-Navy/UPI-97911262616706/.