Free Republic

LONDON, - The British aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal can be yours, courtesy of the U.K. Ministry of Defense auction Web site, authorities said. The former flagship of the Royal Navy was decommissioned two weeks ago years as part of the government's defense budget review after serving with the fleet for 25, the BBC reported. Interested auction bidders can view Ark Royal at her home port, Portsmouth Naval Base, on May 3 and 4, authorities said. Bidders wishing to inspect the carrier must submit an outline of their "intentions regarding the vessel" to the Ministry of Defense, the BBC said....

Scrapping Nimrod is a gift horse for the Russians By Con Coughlin Last updated: January 27th, 2011 The commanders of Russia’s Baltic fleet will be rubbing their hands with glee over the government’s decision to scrap the RAF’s £4 billion Nimrod aircraft. As I wrote this morning, for 40 years Nimrod has been central to our attempts to prevent Russia’s fleet of nuclear submarines from penetrating our defences. But without the sophisticated maritime reconnaissance capability that Nimrod provides, we have, in effect, abandoned the North Sea to the Russians. Defence officials insist that our Nato allies in Scandanavia, who also...