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‘Back to the Future’: the Royal Navy in the Twenty-First Century

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The Changing Face of Maritime Power

Abstract

As it enters the new millennium, the size, composition and outlook of the Royal Navy promises to be considerably different from the one which existed a mere decade ago. If the Navy is successful in getting its case accepted within the Ministry of Defence (MoD), we could, once again, see a Royal Navy containing relatively large aircraft carriers earmarked for the projection of British military power overseas,2 supported by a brigade level amphibious assault capability and nuclear-powered attack submarines equipped with conventionally armed land-attack cruise missiles (TLAM).3 What this would amount to is a return to a far more traditional defence policy than we have seen over the last fifty years with a maritime rather than continental emphasis.4 Incorporated within this would be a defence policy that utilizes available technology to project power from the sea to a far greater distance and far more accurately than has previouslybeen possible.

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Notes

  1. See Martin Edmonds (ed.), ‘British Naval Aviation in the 21st Century’, Bailrigg Memorandum 25 (Lancaster: Centre for Defence and International Security Studies, 1997).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Defence Studies Department, Joint Services Command and Staff College, Bracknell, UK

    Andrew M. Dorman (Senior Lecturer)

Authors
  1. Andrew M. Dorman
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Defence Studies Department, Joint Services Command and Staff College, Bracknell, UK

    Andrew Dorman (Senior Lecturer) & Matthew R. H. Uttley (Senior Lecturer) (Senior Lecturer) &  (Senior Lecturer)

  2. Department of War Studies, King’s College, London, UK

    Mike Lawrence Smith (Lecturer) (Lecturer)

Copyright information

© 1999 Andrew Dorman

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Dorman, A.M. (1999). ‘Back to the Future’: the Royal Navy in the Twenty-First Century. In: Dorman, A., Smith, M.L., Uttley, M.R.H. (eds) The Changing Face of Maritime Power. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230509610_13

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