Blimey.

I think the RAF’s Typhoon purchase is pretty safe now!

How many aircraft are on QRA in the UK (or is that classified?) ?

What would happen if Russia sent more than 8, as suggested above? Does the RAf have aircraft at staggered levels of alert e.g. 5min, 10 min 15 minutes readiness etc?

BBC reported a RAF E-3D AWACs was also launched to keep an eye on the intercept.
Also, Norway launched fighters to intercept these Bears as they passed by Scandinavia.

Getting that sense of deja vu anyone?.

This is a very interesting thread.

Bearing in mind it is hypothetical….

Naval Hawk
I do not see why the Hawk/Goshawk could be made into a viable lightweight carrier strike fighter.
Beginning with the Hawk 128, redesign:
-the fuselage with much greater use of composites to save weight
-uprate the engine, or indeed find a more powerful replacement
-use strengthened landing gear from T-45 Goshawk
-add the arrester hook from the T-45

Naval Super Tucano
In a low-threat environment, this is not an unreasonable suggestion. I don’t think this 30,000 tonne CTOL aircraft carrier is going to be used to neutralise the Iranian nuclear infrastructure 😉

Such an aircraft would just need to be armed with IR AAMs for self-protection, free-flight rockets against surface targets & possibly Hellfire, or other AGM

F/A-18C/D Hornet
Understandably, people have mentioned the Super Hornet, but this aircraft is large & heavy.
What about the smaller F/A-18C/D might be more suitable for a smaller carrier & is obviously already carrier-capable.
It’s not cutting-edge anymore, but people have been talking about A-4s…..

If such a hypothetical 30,000 tonne CTOL carrier was ever built, I would envidage a air group of

8 F/A-18C OR 12 Naval Hawk
12 Super Tucano
6 AH-1W SuperCobra/6 A-129A Mangusta international
4 NH-90 ASW
2 NH-90 SAR/utility
several UAVs

A carrier so equipped could be used in low-threat environments & used for anti-piracy/anti-smuggling/sea-control/ASW/naval embargo operations.

The 30,000t limit for a CTOL carrier is severe, but it’s an interesting concept!

At the end of the day I think Scooter is right –

the only reasonable choice is a larger ship or a STOVL aircraft like the Harrier or Lightning.

Actually, just seen the expanded image. doh!

Too few aerials for a “real” RC-12 guardrail aircraft. A good look-a-like.

Very nice pics! 😀

These must be some of the last pics of RAF Jags in “action”.

Cheers.

The FSTA PFI might have been a reasonable idea if it had been to provide an additional number of airframes above an outright purchase of A330s. Again, though, if the RAF’s aspiration to get the 24-36 A310 MRTTs that were offered in about 97/98 had been realised (the Treasury said ‘no’) we wouldn’t be having this discussion.

The key bit here is “the Treasury said no”

Now who was in charge of the Treasury at that time?

You guessed it, one Gordon Brown MP

There is no hope for us 🙁

I thought this was a naval aviation forum?

I guess subs “fly” through the water? :confused:

Nice pics though….

I’m not Greek, but I would think the Hellenic (Greek) Air Force could do with more fire-fighting aircraft…..

Canadair CL-415?

etc.