Doesn't take much to outdo the Royal Navy

  • Thread starter Thread starter Deleted member 478
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Several points !

The idea to bin the Harrier is entirely Govt. cuts driven; true there has always been a rivalry between Harrier & Tornado camps in RAF ( the tornado is an utter lemon, as proved in the Gulf War ). No-one, least of all Harrier guys, expected the chop right now.

The RN RIB which folded to the Iranians was not faced by a gunboat as such, but 3 similar armed RIB / speedboats; they could and should have fought it out, the Iranians would probably have legged it - maybe having a woman onboard deterred the 'skipper' from fighting.

Also the Aussies had seen off the same lot a day or two before but no-one told this bit of the RN...

Personally I have little time for the Chandlers, stupid to be there; don't think our lot ever had a safe clear shot without risking them ( has been done in similar circumstances by the U.S, using Special Forces snipers ).

If you want to see a 'robust' way of dealing with Somali pirates, put something like 'Russian navy v Somali pirates' into Youtube...
 
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sighmoon said:
if left to their own devices, Somalia is going to have one of the best equipped navies in the world
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So way to go yet. :rolleyes:

Recent picture of Somali pirates

jsk8id.jpg
 
Seajet said:
The RN RIB which folded to the Iranians was not faced by a gunboat as such, but 3 similar armed RIB / speedboats; they could and should have fought it out, the Iranians would probably have legged it - maybe having a woman onboard deterred the 'skipper' from fighting.
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That would have been an unbelievably stupid thing to do. The RN boat went into Iranian territorial waters and was in the wrong. Shooting their way out would have been crazy, illegal and quite possibly an act of war.

Supposing a RIB from a visiting russian ship strayed in Portsmouth Harbour and was warned off by a QHM boat. Would it be OK for them to open fire? Or if a bunch of garda got lost at the border and were accosted by NI cops - OK for them to shoot their way out?
 
As I recall, they did not consider they were in Iranian waters, and the Iranians make it up as they go along, thought they'd chance a go on this occasion and got lucky.

Hardly the equivalent of Portsmouth, miles off in the middle of the 'oggin.

I think you'll find most people would rather shoot their way out of an ambush than chance an Iranian jail, most marines certainly would, and who's going to argue about positions later ?

As for starting a war, as our weapons can reach them but ( in conventional not terrorist sense ) they can't reach us, and they still support terrorism, they'd be asking for a few TLAM's...
 
Have a listen to R4 Saturday Live from last Sat (20/11) about 10:30 in on iPlayer. Very good first hand experience of a security specialist who was onboard a commercial boat that was attacked.
 
All I'll say further on the subject is, how do you think the response might go now, as the RN are putting rather different personalities on the RIB's !

Will have a listen to that programme, Ta.
 
Seajet said:
I think you'll find most people would rather shoot their way out of an ambush than chance an Iranian jail, most marines certainly would, and who's going to argue about positions later ?
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The International Criminal Court, the United Nations ...

Back to my second example, how would you feel about a few gardai shooting up a PSNI patrol who claimed they'd strayed into NI?

As for starting a war, as our weapons can reach them but ( in conventional not terrorist sense ) they can't reach us ...
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Remind me what the country to the east of Iran is called? And the one to the west? You know, the two which are crawling with British troops.
 
Lady Campanula said:
I agree it was scandalous and, further, it was scandalous that no-one in the decision loop was fired.

So can you 'name a name' responsible for that 'quality decision'?

:eek:
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From a "Government" perspective, no doubt the Chandler Operation was a success ! ! ! No one was hurt; no unnecessary expenditure of ammunition etc.; no protracted legal wrangling concerning pirates' Human Rights; the RN recovered the yacht and brought it back to the UK (good PR when they hand it back) and the Treasury get to take 40% of the Chandlers' income from books / interviews.
 
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