First Sea Lord threatens to resign over FAA

The First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Jonathon Band, the head of the Royal Navy, is threatening to resign over RAF plans to "get rid of" the Fleet Air Arm. The RAF are trying to save money by scrapping the 75 Harriers in the joint-force shared between the RAF and RN early in 2013. The RAF is arguing that most military operations in the next decade are going to be over Afghanistan so carrier-borne aircraft are not needed. A decade is an epoch in international affairs though. Scrapping the Harriers 5 years early would save £1 billion apparently.