July 30, 2007 at 4:42 pm
Time for a new speculative thread I think.
With the retirement of the Canberra PR9 from RAF service there is now a hole in UK capabilities. Of course there isn’t the money at the moment and drones will probably form a part of any replacement program but a manned element has shown to be useful.
What manned platform do you think would be suitable for the role?
To get things started my personal choice would be a variant of the Bombardier Global Express, it has a good range and altitude capability, a spacious cabin, the underslung pod less the radar looks suitable for whatever optronics and cameras we wanted and best of all the airframe is already entering RAF service as the ASTOR.