From J. Gibbons, Ryde:
I, and millions more, watched the TV pictures of the new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth arriving at Portsmouth.
One of the onlookers voiced the misgivings of many of us when he said “I’m an ex-submariner. It’s a big target…”
And indeed it is; short of painting roundels and a bullseye on the side it could not be more tempting to pirates or mad-dog dictators.
Is it really good value for money, or a vanity project of some former politician?
We could buy a lot of unmanned drones for that money.
And the spending isn’t over; as I understand it, capital ships need a host of bodyguard vessels to protect the big one.
The worst thing, perhaps, is that we are planning to use American aircraft, indeed I believe the US is planning to use it initially — can this be true? And if it does only use US airplanes and software, are they truly under our control?
I doubt if our nuclear submarines could attack anyone without US approval.