Frankly Jon Lake is drinking a bit too much of the EADS Kool-Aid when it comes to a navalised Typhoon.

Even aircraft designed from the get-go as a carrier fighter have had serious developmental and structural issues! So his idea that the aircraft is “surprisingly suited to carrier operations in some respects” is way too confident to my liking!

Also the suggestion that it could perform unrestricted operations off a ski jump is laughable!

He also infers that it would make an attractive alternative to the F35C for the RN. This rather ignores some rather big elephants in the room! Naval Typhoon would mean interoperability with the Indian and Russian navies only…we know the RN isn’t interested in that! The RN wants as much commonality with the USN/Marine Corp and Aeronavale as possible. Adopting naval Typhoon would send them down a blind alley! Include the idea that I bet the RN would love to operate (and as I have suggested share) some Aeronavale Hawkeye off CVF and its a non starter!

With the UK seemingly walking away from any aspirations it may once have had to maintain a globally relevant military, I’m not sure what “closer ties” would mean at a practical level.

Actually when it comes to amphibious assault capability the UK has come out of SDSR fairly well! Considering that there were rumours that an Albion and at least two Bay class were going to go in the SDSR this is a fairly lucky escape! Actually whilst I hate to say it purchasing four Bay class was a bit excessive to my mind made even worse by giving the contract to a yard that was not in the best state to actually complete it.

In the end the UK retains an amphibious assault capability second only to America:

2 x Albion
Illustrious/Ocean
3 x Bay
Plus:
Argus – Casualty Receiving and extra helicopter deck
Diligence – Capability to provide forward repair
6 x Point class – available on short notice for heavy equipment lift

The irony is with the Nott defence review the UK was pretty much dropping the amphibious assault capability, post the Falklands we went on a huge spending spree in that respect!

The main issue I see now is the lack of organic carrier cover for the next few years and the drop in tankers and replenishment ships without replacement.

Frankly that video makes my blood boil! The system works and there were no serious development issues as it was based on a proven airframe and radar. Its showing its worth in Afghanistan and now Libya giving a vital overview of the battlefield and they want to scrap it for the sake of saving its running costs! I should point out the running costs of a very modern business jet! Its an utter crime! At least with MRA4 billions had been overspent and it was still not in service! Sentinel is in service after reasonably good development program!

Well I would strongly argue that it isn’t a defunct capability! The fact is the Sentinel is being used in Afghanistan and they said they won’t leave service until the UK is out of that war. The decision to get rid of this capability is purely budget driven! If the capability was really of no use they would of retired them now.

I’m not counting out a stay of execution, they are in service being used and proving their worth. Maybe during the 2015ish SDSR things will appear differently.

Any plans for an indiginous stealth fighter is probably a dream now!:(

Japan has been hammered and any money will have to goto civil rebuilding now. Any future fighter jets will be off the shelf from the US, I certainly think the F35s chances have gone up in respect of a purchase.

The top speed of a modern passenger jet is around Mach 0.8-0.9. That’s faster than almost any jet trainer. So a real supersonic fighter with BVR capability is required for air policing duties.

Actually the article also states that the S-300 might be considered.

I agree that for the air policing role you need something that can get supersonic if you want to get up to and intercept airliners that have got lost etc…

On the other hand a BVR capability is not required for air policing by the very nature of the role, in that the pilots need to identify the intruder with their MK1 eyeballs. Having a missile that can plink a target at thirty miles is useless for air policing as is surface to air missiles.

As for a replacement for the Mig29, I can see a strong argument to go for the Mig35 but Russia will expect hard cash. I get a vibe that the reports that come out every once in a while of Russian defence loans for new equipment is more about wishful thinking in the Serbian blogosphere. Of course the irony is the Mig29 was a stop gap in lew of a locally developed and built type.

Well I’m under no illusions EELightning the mandate has been stretched if not exceeded. Problem is now the Western nations of the alliance have started they can’t really stop or they are stuck with a dictator who is known to be revenge minded.