NATO's Bomb Supply Is Running Short

[ClearedHot]

NATO's Bomb Supply Is Running Short

..."Less than a month into the Libyan conflict, NATO is running short of precision bombs, highlighting the limitations of Britain, France and other European countries in sustaining even a relatively small military action over an extended period of time, according to senior NATO and U.S. officials"...

Libya “has not been a very big war. If [the Europeans] would run out of these munitions this early in such a small operation, you have to wonder what kind of war they were planning on fighting,” said John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, a defense think tank. “Maybe they were just planning on using their air force for air shows.”

UFB

Edited April 18, 2011 by ClearedHot

[Ram]

Byron York (Washington Examiner) took the long view:

https://washingtonexaminer.com/politics/2011/04/reforming-entitlements-key-strong-military

Nearly lost amid reporting on the early days of the Libyan war was a revealing look at the deteriorating military strength of Britain, the United States’ oldest and most important ally. The Daily Telegraph reported that the British navy fired a dozen cruise missiles in the initial attack on Libya. The problem was, that was a significant portion of the Brits’ entire arsenal of 64 cruise missiles.

“At this rate we are using up five or ten per cent of our stock per day and soon it could become unsustainable,” a British defense industry source told the Telegraph. “What if the strikes go beyond a second week? We will simply run out of ammunition.”

This is the Goddamn BRITISH FUCKING NAVY we're talking about. Running out of CRUISE MISSILES in two weeks.

York goes on in his article to warn about HOW the Brits got to this position. Take note.

[B*D*A]

64 cruise missiles? Maybe the Brits should bring just one of these back...

[SocialD]

"Less than a month into the Libyan conflict, NATO is running short of precision bombs,

I hope they have been hitting up the BSA range! Ok, so...tight base, IAA, high wire, thing on the thing...$hit there went min release!

Edited April 18, 2011 by SocialD

[WeMeantWell]

York goes on in his article to warn about HOW the Brits got to this position. Take note.

Why spend money on defense when you have the US to do that for you. Let the US protect us while we can take care of the people in our country. It will get interesting IF we start closing bases around the world. Many countries will no longer have our immediate protection -> will they then start spending on defense again? Unfortunately, it is not something you can buy off the shelf.

[StoleIt]

64 cruise missiles? Maybe the Brits should bring just one of these back...

Then they would only have 64 cannon balls.

[pawnman]

Why spend money on defense when you have the US to do that for you. Let the US protect us while we can take care of the people in our country. It will get interesting IF we start closing bases around the world. Many countries will no longer have our immediate protection -> will they then start spending on defense again? Unfortunately, it is not something you can buy off the shelf.

I don't know...the US is in a budget crunch...the US has a stockpile of JDAMs...I see a solution here.

[Masshole]

Byron York (Washington Examiner) took the long view:

https://washingtonexaminer.com/politics/2011/04/reforming-entitlements-key-strong-military

This is the Goddamn BRITISH ######ING NAVY we're talking about. Running out of CRUISE MISSILES in two weeks.

York goes on in his article to warn about HOW the Brits got to this position. Take note.

You mean this British Navy?

NATO's Bomb Supply Is Running Short

..."Less than a month into the Libyan conflict, NATO is running short of precision bombs, highlighting the limitations of Britain, France and other European countries in sustaining even a relatively small military action over an extended period of time, according to senior NATO and U.S. officials"...

Libya “has not been a very big war. If [the Europeans] would run out of these munitions this early in such a small operation, you have to wonder what kind of war they were planning on fighting,” said John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, a defense think tank. “Maybe they were just planning on using their air force for air shows.”

UFB

They were planning for "days, not weeks."

Edited April 18, 2011 by GenericDisplayName

[Flare]

What can I say...the flying is good at the LTTR!

[GrndPndr]

Why spend money on defense when you have the US to do that for you. Let the US protect us while we can take care of the people in our country. It will get interesting IF we start closing bases around the world. Many countries will no longer have our immediate protection -> will they then start spending on defense again? Unfortunately, it is not something you can buy off the shelf.

'2'

We're actually playing a dangerous game, that if taken a bit further will see large shifts in priorities and allegiances among states. The world will become much less predictable than it is now. Leading to a paradigm shift? We'll need to get very creative in the methods we choose to support our strategic and tactical interests.

FM

[ClearedHot]

I meant to post this last week...the RAF is in a world of hurt.

In short the RAF trained only eight...yes EIGHT Typhoon pilots in the ground attack role and ALL of them were non-current when the war kicked off because they could not get training money. The MOD was so embarrassed when the telegraph broke the story of the Public Accounts Committee report, they went on a "crash" training program and the Typhoon dropped its first bomb in combat 24 hours after the story was published.

Libya: RAF bosses dismissed plan to train Typhoon pilots

A harbinger of things to come...

Edited April 18, 2011 by ClearedHot

[Hacker]

The UK has been slowly gutting their defense forces for a decade...and with results that have positively reinforced those political decisions.

Unfortunately, nobody stepped back to look at the big picture.

Sort of like what the US is doing.

[BFM this]

Sort of like what the US is doing.

1977...1993...2009...

[Stitch]

1977...1993...2009...

1946... 1950-something... 1918... 1866... wash, rinse, repeat.

[BQZip01]

Bring back 15 year retirements! I like the thought of being a 36 year old retired Major.

2

[Champ Kind]

Bring back 15 year retirements! I like the thought of being a 36 year old retired Major.

Not hedging your bets on VSP coming through??

[WeMeantWell]

...the US has a stockpile of JDAMs...I see a solution here.

and a stockpile of officers... maybe an USAF Blue to RAF baby-Blue program. The only downside is you have to give up your dental plan.

[Guest CAVEMAN]

1977...1993...2009...

More like 1981...1989...2001. Outrageous defense spending with nothing to show for it. Who are we kidding, as long as I get my retirement why do I care?!

[Toro]

and a stockpile of officers... maybe an USAF Blue to RAF baby-Blue program. The only downside is you have to give up your dental plan.

Well played.