Hmmm...I think they're probably still patrolling off the Falklands...
Jim, I hope Xabba is right, we could probably afford to mothball a few Challengers...I mean, we're an island nation after all, short of the Scottish and Welsh getting a bit antsy we need the RAF and Navy for direct home defence...and let's face it, in times like these one has to look at home first and outside of Afghanistan and the Falklands (and perhaps Gibraltar
) we have no overseas territories in direct threat...and even so, once upon a time the RN was enough to keep them in line.
Of course, I think the importance of the RN and RAF wained when we took on the Cold war role in Germany, after all what we needed then was tanks and men to help push back the Soviets, the US had the aircraft and the navy, so we pitched in with a bigger army.
Just my thought anyway, and now that Germany is no longer in danger of being overrun by the Soviets our armed forces still reflect a Cold War status...but that being said, they're coming around after nine years of desert insurgent warfare and we've learnt a lot of lessons along the way...most of them the hard way.
Of course, the other point of view is that in this modern Europe, do we need home defence? Well, the Russians seem to think so otherwise they wouldn't keep playing with it, but the likelihood of a war with Russia is low, as is a war with any of the EU nations. Primarily, our main danger is from homegrown and external based terrorist cells, and you can fight them with a Challenger II MBT, not in Hounslow...you'd never get it through the congestion charge...but I digress. Therefore, what is needed is better police and intelligence services, however, that's on a different budget to the MoD and will no doubt be receiving its own fair share of cuts (Going back to the Ford Anglia police cars?
) but then if we do change our force composition to combat such a force then we'll find ourselves royally up the creek if a conventionally armed nation does come knocking.
Either which way, something is going to give before long, there's not a great deal there to cut, not where they're putting the knife, and what is going to be cut in both the military and in public affairs, is going to hurt not the MPs, not the Lords or the Civil Servants, or even the Bankers...it's going to hurt the other end of the ladder, those who have barely enough anyway, those who are legitimately on benefits who find themselves facing the Stasi at the DSS, those who are told that they need to get back to work or lose money when there are no jobs in the area.
But again, I digress...but it's a bit like being at the top of the drop on a rollercoaster and looking down at the steep drop to come.