According to foreign media reports, the UK Ministry of Defense plans to sell two Sea God class dock transport ships that will be retired early to Brazil for only 20 million pounds (approximately 25.17 million US dollars). Although this move is part of the UK government's budget cutting plan, it still raises widespread doubts about the future amphibious combat capabilities of the British Navy. There are a total of two British Sea God's Son class dock transport ships ("Sea God's Son" and "Fortress"), both of which are within their "service life". The Sea God's Son was launched in March 2001 and commissioned in June 2003. It served as the flagship of the British Navy from December 2010 to October 2011. The "Fortress" was launched in November 2001 and commissioned in December 2004. It served as the flagship of the British Navy from October 2011 to June 2015. The captain of this class is 176 meters, the width is 28.9 meters, the draft is 7.1 meters, and the displacement is 19500 tons. Self defense weapons mainly include 2 "goalkeeper" close in weapon systems, 8 "sea mosquito" foil bait launch devices, and electronic countermeasures equipment. Each ship can simultaneously take off and land 3 EH101 helicopters or 2 Chinook heavy helicopters. This class of ship embodies the design concept of "balanced loading" and "one ship for multiple purposes". Its main task is to provide vehicles and landing craft support for landing forces, and to cooperate with amphibious attack helicopter carriers for landing. It can also coordinate amphibious operations through integrated command, control, and communication systems. Due to its strong loading capacity, well-equipped facilities, and simple living quarters that can be quickly retrofitted, this class of ship can also undertake tasks such as maritime transportation and rescue, humanitarian assistance, and peacekeeping. In recent years, the British Navy's defense budget has been tight, which is also reflected in the use of Sea God class dock transport ships. In the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review report, the UK proposed that one of the two ships should be kept in a "high state of readiness" and the other should be transferred to an "extended state of readiness" for storage to save costs. Nevertheless, the total annual operating cost of the two ships is still as high as £ 17.7 million to £ 38.6 million. It is reported that currently, both ships are in a relatively low state of readiness, and there are no plans to return to the sea before the originally scheduled retirement dates of 2033 and 2034. In fact, they have been stored at the Devonport Naval Base for a long time and still require maintenance of about £ 9 million per year. Recently, the UK Ministry of Defence has begun a "broader restructuring" of the navy and has decided to retire the Sea God class dock transport ships, with the aim of prioritizing the normal operation and development of multi-purpose platforms such as the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carrier, Type 31 frigate, and "Future Assault Boat" to maintain and develop "distributed lethality", small amphibious platforms, and their integration with air and network capabilities. The UK Ministry of Defence stated that over the past decade, the UK has invested heavily in maintaining and upgrading the Sea God class dock transport ships, with a total expenditure exceeding £ 132 million. Many comments believe that the British Navy's "layoffs" may not necessarily increase efficiency, and maintaining large-scale amphibious combat capabilities in high-intensity adversarial environments cannot do without large combat platforms. The British military's reliance on smaller support ships and fighter jets for coastal strikes will limit the scale and flexibility of expeditionary operations. In addition, some people in the UK have also questioned the low offer of £ 20 million for two Sea God class dock transport ships. They believe that the losses caused by the retirement of two ships will be several times higher than the selling price. British Conservative MP Mark Francois believes that selling two Sea God class dock transport ships is a decision made by people who do not understand military and finance. After the sale of the Sea God class dock transport ships by the UK, it will mainly rely on three bay class auxiliary dock landing ships with a full displacement of 18400 tons, as well as the "Hundred Eyed Giant" hospital ship, which is over 40 years old and converted from an aviation training ship, to undertake amphibious combat missions. To make up for the capability gap left by the two ships, we can only rely on the support of allied navies. (New Society)