Best Defense

Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

Now that’s defense cuts!

The Royal Navy may be cut to about 25 ships, total: 6 destroyers6 frigates7 attack subs4 boomers2 carriers Yow. If this happens, Britain will have fewer warships than the Imperial Japanese Navy lost in just one battle, Leyte Gulf. (Where, for the record, the U.S. Navy sent to the bottom 4 carriers, 3 battleships, 8 ...

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The Royal Navy may be cut to about 25 ships, total:

6 destroyers
6 frigates
7 attack subs
4 boomers
2 carriers

Yow. If this happens, Britain will have fewer warships than the Imperial Japanese Navy lost in just one battle, Leyte Gulf. (Where, for the record, the U.S. Navy sent to the bottom 4 carriers, 3 battleships, 8 cruisers and 12 destroyers.) Or less than half the 63 galleons and armed merchant vessels the Spanish Armada lost, mainly to storms.

Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military from 1991 to 2008 for the Wall Street Journal and then the Washington Post. He can be reached at ricksblogcomment@gmail.com. Twitter: @tomricks1

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