How would today's Royal Navy look if Britain had maintained fully independent capabilities from 1989?
Short answerA wholly independent deterrent would drive a much larger submarine force and steadier escort production to justify the facilities and guarantee availability.
NotesA fully independent capability maintained from 1989 is expected to require more submarines and steady industrial throughput. A remembered calculation puts six ballistic-missile submarines at the threshold for justifying independent missile and warhead pools, compared with Britain's four. The suggested force also includes probably six guided-missile submarines and at least eighteen nuclear attack submarines, with continued conventional submarines left uncertain. Continuous construction would launch a frigate each year and a destroyer roughly every other year to sustain the yards. Depending on service lives, the projected surface fleet contains about eighteen destroyers and twenty-four to thirty frigates. The scenario also envisages three Queen Elizabeth-class carriers and at least three LHDs.