皇家海軍將封存四艘42式飛彈驅逐艦

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/01/06/navy06.xml&sSheet;=/portal/2004/01/06/ixportaltop.html&secureRefresh;=true&_requestid=37405

The Royal Navy is to lose at least four destroyers in the next three months, taking the number of surface warships to below that of the French navy for the first time since the 17th century.

It will now have only 28 escort ships compared to the French navys 32 and will no longer be able to mount major operations unless it is fighting alongside either the Americans or the French.

(居然給法國佬過了頭，小心納爾遜從西敏寺跳出來找你們這班白廳的傢伙......)

Four Type-42 destroyers are to be mothballed as part of a series of cuts over the coming months as the MoD struggles to keep within Treasury-imposed limits on its budget.

They are only the first of a number of cuts foreshadowed by last months defence White Paper but will be a deeply demoralising blow for the Navy. At the height of its power in the mid-19th century it was the size of the seven next biggest navies combined and even as the US and German navies grew at the start of the 20th century it remained twice as large as its nearest rival.

The Opposition denounced the assumptions behind the cuts as lunacy. Nicholas Soames, the shadow defence secretary, said: It is a genuinely very bad decision and a slap in the face for the Navy.

These are vital air defence ships. Our whole military doctrine is based on expeditionary warfare. This will expose the fleet to considerable hazard.

(保守黨：這是丟臉丟到家的決定)

The Liberal Democrats said the cuts were the result of poor management and over-deployment of UK forces. Paul Keetch, the partys defence spokesman, said they would leave the Navy dependent on the US navy every time it puts to sea.

(終於認自己管理不善兼眼高手低了嗎？你們都是無脊椎動物嗎？可以不要每次也靠老美好嗎？)

The four warships to be axed are Newcastle, Cardiff, Glasgow and Liverpool. They are the oldest of the surviving Type-42 destroyers but Glasgow and Liverpool were not due to be decommissioned until 2010. Cardiff was due to go in 2008 and Newcastle in 2007 when the first of the Navys new destroyers, the Type-45, is expected to enter service. It cuts the number of destroyers to seven.

The loss of their air defence capability compounds the difficulties caused by the decision to scrap the Fleet Air Arms Sea Harriers, leaving the fleet with no air cover until the introduction of the Joint Strike Fighter in 2012.

(結論：皇家海軍在2012年前都會成了附生別人的無脊椎動物)

But it also means that the Government will be forced to drop its commitment, made in the 1996 Strategic Defence Review, to keep 26 destroyers and frigates available for operations at all times.

The maximum number of destroyers and frigates the Navy could now keep at sea, at a time when the war on terror is dramatically increasing its workload, would be 23.

The Type-42s Sea Dart missiles play a vital role in escorting and protecting the carriers and amphibious fleet.

But for the past six months they have also been assigned to support units from the Special Boat Service carrying out anti-terrorist duties around the British coast and the North Sea oil platforms.

Senior Navy sources said that more Type-42 destroyers, as well as at least two of the Navys minehunters and even some Type-23 frigates, which date only from the early 1990s, could also be axed.

(連掃雷艇也不放過，拉登以後只要在英國港口丟幾顆水雷便夠了)

Ministers appeared to see the loss of the four destroyers, each of which has a complement of 266 men, as an easy way of virtually eradicating the Navys manning shortfall of 1,200, the sources said.

(這是什麼哲學？削足適履嗎？這樣又怎會有人參加？)

But one senior Navy officer with 20 years service said he was sickened by the way in which the fleet was being cut ship by ship. The defence White Paper had sent the wrong message to young sailors and many were ready to quit.

He said: Hoon doesnt realise, and probably doesnt care, but many youngsters see no future in the Navy and are getting out. When I ask them: Why are you leaving?, they say: Why stay? The Navy is just getting smaller and smaller, and that means less opportunity.

We need to retain these destroyers until the new ones arrive, the replacements are not expected to arrive for another three years, getting rid of these ships will leave us with a handful of destroyers.

The MoD said that it could not go further than it had in the White Paper which said air defence and escort vessels were less likely to be at a premium and reductions in the number of older ships will be necessary.

英國國防部否認裁減四艘42式飛彈驅逐艦
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3371717.stm
Warships plans still in infancy

The Royal Navy insists no decisions have been made about shrinking its fleet, following reports it is to lose four warships in the next three months.
Restructuring plans were still in their early stages, a Ministry of Defence spokesman said, dismissing a Daily Telegraph story as premature.

The possible scrapping of some older vessels would be countered by the introduction of new ones, he said.

The changes would be introduced some time in 2004, the spokesman added.

Older ships

It is likely that some of the older ships could be taken out because they do not have as much capability as some of the new ships being brought in, he said.

We have made an order for six Type-45 destroyers and it is planned to produce up to 12 new ships.

The Daily Telegraph report said the cut in ship numbers was being brought about by budget cuts announced in last months defence White Paper.

It identified the four Type-42 destroyers to be axed as Newcastle, Cardiff, Glasgow and Liverpool.

The MoD said: These vessels may well be among those that are being talked about but no firm decisions have been made.

We are not in a position to say we are reducing our fleet. [We may need] less, the same or more [ships]. We have no idea.

Conservative defence spokesman Nicholas Soames told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: The defence budget is in a real crisis and we must acknowledge that and we are going to have to deal with it.

I think people will be quite astonished that - at a time when the forces have delivered so spectacularly... it appears the government are going to cut the resources that are their rightful due, given the operations they are now having to undertake, he said.

Mr Soames declined to say how the Tories would fund extra defence spending, but pledged to lobby hard to make sure we have what we need for our troops to go on performing the way they have.

紐卡素(新堡)號出勤到地中海執勤七個月
http://www.royal-navy.mod.uk/rn/content.php3?page=1&article;=755
HMS NEWCASTLE JOINS WAR ON TERROR

Portsmouth warship HMS Newcastle heads for the Mediterranean today to join a multinational force fighting the war against terrorism.

The Type 42 destroyer is to spend seven months in the eastern Med working with NATO nations in Operation Active Endeavour.

Her ships company will work alongside navies from several nations including the United States, Italy, Turkey, Greece and the Netherlands, monitoring busy shipping lanes and boarding suspect vessels.

Operation Active Endeavour has been conducted since October 2001 to keep a constant look-out for terrorist related activity including movements of arms and explosives, as well as terrorists themselves.

Commander Jeremy Blunden, Newcastles Commanding Officer, said: It will be a long and busy deployment, but we are all looking forward to it.

It will be interesting working closely with other navies in what is an important international operation.

「中途島號」航空母艦博物館發言人史考特．麥克谷說，聖地牙哥是美國西岸最大的軍港，而「中途島號」是有史以來噸位最大的一艘航母博物館，兩者今後將相映成輝。

「中途島號」於一九四五年竣工下水，先後參加了韓戰、越戰，馳騁於亞洲太平洋水域達四十七年之久。

Canberra eyes star wars missiles

By CNNs Grant Holloway
Tuesday, January 13, 2004 Posted: 0606 GMT ( 2:06 PM HKT)

SYDNEY, Australia (CNN) -- Australias commitment to the controversial U.S. missile shield system may include warships fitted with weaponry capable of shooting down ballistic missiles in space.

A team from the U.S. Missile Defense Agency is currently in Australia discussing the framework for Canberras participation in the futuristic system.

In an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on Monday, Defense Minister Robert Hill said the government planned to buy three air warfare destroyers which may be fitted with super-sophisticated SM3 missiles able to intercept ballistic missiles.

SM3 missiles are long range, three-stage missiles able to destroy an incoming missile 137 kilometers (85 miles) above the earth travelling at 3.7 kilometers per second (2.2 miles per second).

In the shorter term, the destroyers would initially be equipped to identify and track the launch of a ballistic missile and pass that information to another ship -- presumably American -- capable of launching an interception missile.

Hill said the Aegis air warfare system carried on a U.S. Navy cruiser had successfully carried out a ballistic missile test interception over the Pacific just before Christmas.

The Australian government first indicated a willingness to participate in the shield program in February last year and confirmed its commitment in December.

The decision threatened to upset some of Australias regional neighbors, particularly China.

Beijing sees the U.S. system -- dubbed son of star wars -- as a direct challenge to its own small, ballistic missile arsenal and has warned the shield could encourage a missile arms race.

Asked if Australias moves could escalate an Asian arms race, Hill said: There is an argument that that would encourage others to develop their attack missiles further or to proliferate them. But the proliferation is already there.

Holes in the story
Ron Huisken, an expert in U.S. defense policy, said the government needed to justify whether such systems were necessary.

Its a complicated business, Huisken, from the Australian National University, told The Associated Press.

It makes a big difference whether you aspire to defend Australia itself or whether you aspire to defend Australian expeditionary forces going overseas, theres a lot of holes in the story so far before we spend lots of money.

Australia will spend Aust. $15.8 billion ($10.3 billion) on defense this fiscal year, amounting to 1.9 percent of the nations economic output.

Canberra argues taking part in the shield system will serve the nations strategic interests and allow Australia to make an important contribution to global and regional security.

I think its very much a common sense precaution to find a way to defeat at least limited numbers of ballistic missiles from rogue states, Australias Foreign Minister Alexander Downer told CNN in December.

The United States wants allies such as Britain and Australia involved in the project, particularly for the use of satellite tracking stations in their countries.

Australia already operates a ballistic missile early warning ground station jointly with the United States at Pine Gap in the remote Australian Outback.

Japan is also planning to introduce a missile defense system to protect against the threat posed by North Korea. (Full story)

（法新社雪梨十三日電） 坎培拉政府表示，澳洲正考慮向美國購買一套精密的反飛彈防禦系統，此一系統可在太空中摧毀來襲的彈道飛彈。

澳洲國防部長希爾表示，坎培拉計劃為澳洲海軍購買防空作戰驅逐艦，它們將配備可擊落長程彈道飛彈的標準三型飛彈。

希爾發表上述聲明的同時，美國飛彈防禦署官員正和澳洲官員於雪梨舉行會談，討論美國飛彈防禦系統的特別計劃。澳洲已宣布將參與美國飛彈防禦計劃。

希爾接受ABC電台訪問時表示，磋商中的特別計劃包括澳洲可能購買的標準三型飛彈。

希爾稍早承認，坎培拉注意到區域鄰邦，包括印尼在內，對其參與美國飛彈防禦計劃的批評，及認為可能引發區域軍備競賽的說法。

希爾表示，「這是我們必須密切注意的發展。反對者認為這將導致武器擴散。」

印尼國會議員阿米尼上週指出，坎培拉和華府正計劃利用美國飛彈防禦系統擴張區域軍事霸權，並可能侵犯鄰國。

[路透新德里電]國防部官員周日表示，印度已同意購買一艘重新翻修過的俄羅斯航空母艦戈爾什科夫海軍上將號(AdmiralGorshkov)，這筆金額逾10億美元的交易可能將於本周簽署。

這項軍售案將附帶購買米格29型戰機，預計將使印度海軍大大提昇了攻擊武力。

預計將必須以超過四年的時間才能使這艘航母重新恢復戰力，戈爾什科夫海軍上將號將為印度現役航母的暫時替代方案，目前服役的航母已屆除役年限。

印度國防官員對路透表示，這次購買案歷經了雙方激烈的議價過程，最後由印度內閣安全委員會在周日稍晚拍板定案。

戈爾什科夫海軍上將號將是印度五個月來的第三宗主要軍購。

印度為該區域唯一擁有航母的國家，該國的主要競爭鄰國巴基斯坦與中國都尚未擁有航母。中、巴兩國過去均曾與印度交戰。

分析家稱，戈爾什科夫海軍上將號將給予新德里「投射力量」的能力--代表能夠執行長程攻擊任務。印度目前服役的航母購自英國，是一艘以防禦為主要目的的航母。(完)

（中央社記者姜遠珍漢城二十六日專電）南韓政府高層透露，為了因應朝鮮半島統一後而來自周圍列強的安全威脅，南韓國防部與海軍已於去年六月成立專案計劃團，打算將於二○一二年以後，獨力研發並實戰部署數艘四千噸級核子潛艇。

南韓第一大報「朝鮮日報」今天在頭版頭條以「韓國決定研發核潛艇」為標題，引述政府層人士的話作了前述報導。

報導指出，於朝鮮半島統一後，為了在周圍列強的安全威脅夾縫中，確保獨立自主的生存權，作為貫徹自主國防政策之一環，南韓海軍當局已於去年六月成立了由三十多人參與的專案計劃團，正積極推動具體設計、獨力研發及實戰部署核子潛艇的計劃。

南韓當局計劃自今年開始至二○○六年為止，首先完成概念設計進程，於二○○七年著手建造，至二○一二年之後，以兩、三年為間隔，實戰部署數艘四千噸級獨力研發的核子潛艇。

「朝鮮日報」報導指出，在目前韓、日兩國為獨島（日本稱為竹島）領土主權引發爭議，日本國內主張核武裝的輿論沸騰之際，為了對應來自日本與中國等周圍列強的威脅，南韓當局正秘密推動於二○一二年以後實戰部署核子潛艇的計劃。

（中央社記者謝震南東京二十七日專電）日本小泉內閣昨天發布陸海空自衛隊派遣令，在二次戰後首次調動三軍武力，一齊開赴海外交戰地區執行國際人道支援任務。但是，針對海上自衛隊實力不足、裝備和兵員日益吃緊的窘境，前海自高級官員、岡崎研究所副理事長川村純彥特別提出警語，呼籲日本政府及早正視因應。

今天在產經新聞發表專文的川村強調，隨著東西冷戰時代的結束，巡弋海域的範圍也擴大，日本海上自衛隊有必要及早採取應變措施，大幅提升並強化組織架構和部隊編成。

以日本派兵伊拉克為例，川村指出，兩河流域交會處的底格里斯河、幼發拉底河，日本不妨考慮採用小型船艦，既可方便出入執行運補作業，又可大幅提升效率。

他強調，日本應該及早考量類似手法的國際貢獻。

另一方面，川村也提到，基於日本「恐怖對策特別措置法」，海上自衛隊目前在印度洋派遣護衛艦和運輸艦執行任務，由於操艦技術純熟，受到各國海軍讚賞和肯定。

不過，海上自衛隊目前僅擁有四支護衛艦群，八千九百噸的「大隅」OSUMI級運輸艦，全國僅有三艘。也因此，每次執行國際性任務，只能從四艘補給艦之中抽調一艘前往，到時再以其他三艘輪番替補。

整體來說，以現在的海上自衛隊實力，要想從容應付日益增大的國際和平任務，難免顯得捉襟見肘。

（中央社記者羅苑韶巴黎二十八日專電）費加洛報今天頭版頭條指出，法國一九九一年賣給台灣六艘拉法葉艦案，已證實湯普森集團違約支付佣金，法國有可能要被判支付台灣高達六億美元的違約金。但檢察官調查佣金去向，因情治單位不公開資料而受阻。

費加洛報取得一月十五日送至司法部的這份機密報告指出，湯普森（Thompson CSF)一九九一年和台灣這項高達一百六十億美元的合約中規定，如果有額外佣金情事，查出需歸還。而司法調查已證實湯普森（目前已改名為Thales)的確付出佣金。報告另外指出，Thales也提出訴求，追討不在合約範圍內高達五億九千九百萬美元的款項。

法國有可能要被判罰處歸還佣金金額以及附帶的利息。經檢察官調查分析，湯普森當時是商業界的代表，另外DCN船艦建造總部，為工業界代表。一九九一年八月二日，政府與湯普森、DCN和一個金融團體Sofrantem共同簽署一項協議，共同執行拉法葉艦合約，導致檢察官認定政府集合各部門之力統籌執行合約，司法機關將判決國家為罰款對象。

（中央社記者謝震南東京三十日專電）讀賣新聞報導，日本政府將於二月下旬向國會提出「外國軍用品等海上輸送規制法案」（名稱暫定）。依據這項法案，一旦日本遭受外來攻擊，海上自衛隊可強行臨檢附近海域的可疑船舶。必要時，甚至可以採取威嚇射擊或逕行沒收船貨等手段。

據了解，日本官方制訂這項新法的主要目的，在於試圖有效阻止進犯日本的第三國部隊兵員和武器彈藥輸送。

日本目前僅有「船舶檢查法」。這項基於聯合國安理會決議的法案，主要是因應朝鮮半島等日本周邊地域一旦有事，日本有義務協助國際社會實施經濟制裁。

不過，現行的「船舶檢查法」賦予的權限，近乎徒具形式、聊備一格。事實上，如果未獲船籍國的同意，海上自衛隊不能命令可疑船隻停船受檢，或採取開火示警或登船臨檢手段。

然而，「外國軍用品等海上輸送規制法案」一旦通過施行之後，海上自衛隊不僅可以主動對可疑船隻開火示警，即使沒有船籍國的同意，也可登船檢查書類文件和載運物資。