Looks like my suggestion re Ocean and its resident Apaches was correct.

They are to be deployed to Libya “within days” according to the Telegraph

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8531704/British-attack-helicopters-to-Libya.html

How often have Apaches been used from a Naval Vessel before on actual live fire operations?

So how well will they do ?

Target rich environment ?

Manpads or larger systems to be concerned about ?

Any Worries about heavy machine guns on the ground ?

Is there sufficient combat search and rescue ?

There must be operational range worries, as Libya is very large and Ocean will still be some way off shore ?

Anything else ?

So how are they going to store the helicopter ? Surely they are not going to lift it into the hold with that large Midships crane ? 😮

It all seem’s to have gone quiet on this doesn’t it ? I guess that was inevitable

If the photo of that wreckage of the main rotor head and gearbox in the compound is legit, then there is no sign of the main chassis of the aircraft at all. Normally some aluminum frame parts survive a fire even if they are melted. This ‘might’ suggest that the whole airframe was composite with perhaps any important structural metal bits being titanium, which would also burn. A completely composite stealth airframe would not be out of the question by any means, so perhaps it was a completely rebodied Blackhawk derivative as suggested up thread ?

I have been there many times over the years including far too many times to the old terminal. Its usually an airbridge, but anything is possible on a busy day 😉

Agree about the stupid terminal prices as well.

Yes I think that I agree, some folks regularly criticise the French for many things, but they have gone well beyond what might have been normally expected to retrieve the data. There are many countries that would not have attempted this even if they had the capability.

I guess its the Helicopter thats going to be one of the main issues as others have said desite the above. One of the questions will be if it can be considered advisable to operate in that part of the world without one ? I suspect it probably isn’t, in which case a small refit seems possible, despite the short charter. Remove the cranes, build a platform and fit one of the cheap tent Hanger jobbies like they did with the Bays ? It would be chilly, but it might work.

After that then they need to buy into someone elses programme. Interestingly I believe that what happens in the Falklands re the Oil situation may also be a significant factor and they may be waiting to see how that pans out in the next 2-3 years before making a final decision on what to do. The future position there will be much clearer by 2014. Maybe we could end up with a ‘Grey funnel line’ icebreaker ? :eek:;)