While that may be true, there can be no doubt that the Royal Navy is a mere shadow of what it once was. How big it should be is an arithmetical expression of the UK's view of its future role in the world I guess.Pontius Navigator wrote: ↑Tue Dec 17, 2019 1:44 pmA 2020 Destroyer is the size of a light cruiser and so too are the Frigates. A WW2 Destroyer or even 1970s Types 12 and 14 frigates were not that different.
Even the army, which, historically, in peace time has been known to be relatively small, albeit well trained, is now smaller than it was during the Napoleonic wars when England still had the money and the allies to defeat Napoleon. Historically at such times Britain had one of the most potent navies in the world.