I don't think I am missing the point at all. Apaches are not designed for naval operations, I agree. Can they be used for it? Yes, the US and UK have proven so. Do they need big modifications? Not really. Are our pilots and ground crews trained for these operations? No, they are not but they could do so.ehusmann wrote:Wildpicture, sorry to say, but you seem to be totally missing the point. Look at the last point sijm made. THAT is what is going on here. Not if it could be done. Of course it could be done. Just as we could ask the US if we could have one of their surplus carriers, fill it up with some of their surplus Hornets and shoot some of their surplus old ammunition at the pirates. But that will not happen either, or will it?
So, can we have Apaches on a vessel in the Indian Ocean next week? No, that would not be possible at such short notice. Could we have them there sometime next spring? Sure, if we would really want to, we certainly could. Should we do this? That is entirely a different point and up to the politicians to decide.
We could also station the Apaches in Djibouti again, as we did ten years ago. Unfortunately their range would be rather limited and with a full load (4) of extra fuel tanks their armament would be limited to the 30mm gun and their response time too long.
The point of using a US carrier with Hornets is rather ridiculous as we do not have the funds nor the staff for that.
