BBC: Britannia Will Rule The Waves?

"Good afternoon. The Prime Minister, along with the Chief Of The Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Andrew Portal, and the Minister For The Armed Forces, Gregory Jackson MP, revealed during a select committee investigating the massive expansion of The British Army and GLA that the Royal Navy would be expanding its forces to where it would possess three fleets worth of ships. Each of these would be formed round the nucleus provided by the aging, but currently being upgraded, Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers."



"Mr. Prime Minister," The Chairman began. "You made a very serious claim not so long ago regarding how the threat of The GLA possessing nuclear weapons was a very real one and that you WERE taking steps. My first question is naturally... What do you intend to do?"

"Our first priority is naturally to expand our armed forces and its capabilities. Our long term relationship with The European Continental Alliance and Army has caused a grievous degradation of our armed forces. Our dependence upon the pooling of forces across the European continent has resulted in our forces being unable to perform as effectively on its own with its own composition. As such, it is necessary for us to take steps to ensure that we are capable of holding our own."

"Ha! You make it sound like the GLA is a conventional force! Do you think they are truly so advanced?"

"It doesn't matter whether they are fighting with sticks and stones or nuclear weapons. What matters is that they have proven to be far more resilient than any other terrorist organisation this world has ever seen and we should not underestimate them. I am sure you are all aware that they were capable of invading mainland Europe itself and turned the German Autobahn into a river of blood. The GLA have been able to suffer catastrophic defeats galore and within months they are back, sometimes stronger than ever. Another matter is the fact that they are in possession of more territory than ever before. They are practically the masters of north, central and possibly west Africa in the near future. They are in possession of a practically unlimited source of manpower and material. Africa is the cradle of life, it is the home of hundreds of millions of people and tonnes of raw materials from oil to diamonds which could and probably is being exploited to expand and perpetuate their oppressive agenda."

"I see." A female on the committee interjected. "You mentioned that the exit of The UK from The ECA caused a degradation of our capabilities, could you perhaps expand upon that and what the government and armed forces are doing to address this?"

Edmund looked at both Gregory and Andrew who both nodded. He then looked back at the committee.

"In regards to the deficiencies that have been identified, it was found that the previous government, which presided over our membership in The ECA, had neglected our independent armed forces capabilities. They instead focused on what the ECA expressed interest in, as such, we have incredibly advanced artillery like the Mortar Track and Claymore artillery platform, but on the flip-side, they've forgotten about our own technology, our tanks, ships, weapons and vehicles. Those have instead been provided by the other European nations." Edmund explained before taking a sip of water. "So, there have been measures taken to catch up with the other nations and coalitions. The first is that we've recycled a vast amount of material that, amusingly, has been around for over a hundred years. We have resurrected the Vickers Vigilant, a wired guided anti-tank missile, for defensive warfare and upgraded the MBT LAW for our troops on the move. The Rapier anti-air missile, which was upgraded with practically every method of lock-on and tracking over its lifetime, is now back to provide our protection against aircraft and our mobile forms of anti-aircraft capability are the Stormer, a fast Starstreak equipped vehicle for helicopters and planes in short range engagements, and the Faraday, a new long range anti-air creation that was made with other tesla based technology in partnership with Russia."

"We've also begun producing our own Harriers again," Air Chief Marshal Portal added. "Bomber Command, which was resurrected under The ECA, is still ours and we are using Victor and Vulcan bombers for our strategic bombing capability. Then there's the reintroduction of drones to the British Army, they are bringing dusty, old Reaper UAV back into service for air support and reconnaissance."

"That all sounds very nice, but we've not heard a single word mentioned regarding the Royal Navy, may we hear something on them?"

"Of course, Madam." Edmund replied heartily. "The Royal Navy is a shadow of its former self. 140 years ago, we were the most powerful naval force in the world and had that position for 30 years after that. Sadly, we have lost that prestige and never actually made any serious attempt to regain that. However, with the election of the government I am the Prime Minister of, we are adamant that we shall do something about that. The HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince Of Wales, two super carriers that were entered into service around 20 years ago, are being refurbished and upgraded and there will also be a third aircraft carrier HMS King William IV. These three carriers will be the flagships and nuclei for three fleets that will be a component of how The United Kingdom will be able to project itself to stem the tide of The GLA. These fleets will be comprised of a multitude of different classes of ship, from aircraft carriers to frigates and everything in between, including a number of obsolete types like seaplane tenders to ensure that we are capable of combating any threat possible."