Sure it did, but the point I’m making is that a lot of the welfare systems that some on the right deride were a consequence of what happened in the immediate aftermath of the war. And in the 70 years that have passed, have become the norm on the continent.

They’re nuts across India. Pests when it comes to road manners too.

Lived in Calcutta for a decade, I can confirm they’re called ‘autos’ there as well as others have mentioned. Seeing as they are the autorickshaw derivative of the traditional hand pulled rickshaw which I believe Calcutta is one of the last few cities to still have. You have an intermediary that’s called a cycle…

Fair enough. I actually would like to hear more about what I imagine must be as rare as snow leopards- simple defence projects, delivered on time and within budget (or with bare minimum overruns)

Why does the QE class have two separate islands/super structures? I know the one behind has the dedicated flight ops but what was the logic?

Wouldn’t development costs already be sunk in the hypothetical scenario that a cat equipped QE class as per the French requirements were produced? I’d be interested to see the projections for cost (even adding a considerable pinch of salt to whatever estimate is produced).

Ooo, how are the French currently placed with their involvement in the QE class? I heard they wanted it as the basis for their replacement carrier but then backed out. Surely if the image above is anything to go by it would make for an interesting replacement to the CDG.

you know the theory if a butterfly flaps it’s wings a hurricane happens on the other side of the globe. Replace butterfly with Obama in Buzz’s case.

Like a real life Gareth Mallory from the current Bond universe. Former decorated bad-ass soldier now part of the political establishment as head of part of the defence apparatus.

Exactly! The fact that they said the RN will be sharing with the RAF made me think surely the F-35C is the best version in that case as the pure air arm wouldn’t want to be hobbled by the VTOL requirement whereas the C variant would be somewhat analogous to the pure A variety, whilst still being able to be used by the…

I don’t think visiting a place is enough to empathise with the culture of the locals. I mean in your earlier statement, what do you mean by the continent being overrun by those who hate them? Are you referring to the refugees?

Point. If the RN could fully afford to realise the planned potential of the QE class it sure would make for a potent breadth of capability, but even more so than the US the UK needs to spend whatever little funds are left well.

I can see the logic there. I always found ski jumps to be an elegant solution. Personally I don’t see why the RN opted against catapults, changing their mind mid way through, but I’m sure there already is and likely will be reams written about that decision. Ultimately it’s about suiting your own needs so I guess ski…

It Is a thought experiment all of this isn’t it? Until I see the QE class next to say a Nimitz I won’t fully grasp the relative size difference. That being said one carrier that has always intrigued me is the Charles De Gaulle. Surely that’s what the USN would envision for a small carrier. It’s still nuclear, it’s…

Well I will thank you for taking the time to flesh out your argument. I totally understand the fact that regardless of the size of a carrier it needs a whole host of other actors just to ring it, in order for it to effectively do it’s job. That being said I guess I’m more for seeing diversity in the USN carrier fleet…

Your comment made me have an interesting thought. Obviously I see a lot of frustration from the likes of Buzz et al when it comes to the perceived lack of effort from the Europeans towards shared security work. And then you raised the issue of the reluctance by the US to buy let’s say European and maybe at a stretch…

To reference an earlier article from Tyler about how the America’s class have had issues with the decks getting damage from F-35B exhausts, wouldn’t it be worth seeing how the QE type carriers perform in their basic remit of operating the Marine variant of the F-35? Especially to see if it has less issues than the…

In response to what Darth mentioned earlier about smaller carriers being regional, say the USN got QE type carriers. Given the US has significant military installations around the globe and berthing rights, wouldn’t it be feasible say for at least 1 of those QE type carriers to have it’s home base in Japan from where…

They must have to use Titanium windscreen wipers, the beating it seems to be taking here!

God, they’re literally kicking/hitting the shit out of each other.