FlubbaGot some more images of the C1 proposal by BVT, The images are a bit small but if you open them in photo editing software you can enlarge them enough to see them a bit better.
FlubbaI thought the same thing but it has the same fore-mast as the type 45 so the Samspons sphere will be able to fit there and then they can build a platform for the VSR aft just forward of the hangar.
Or the VSR could be left out of the AAW suite as the Sampson can supposedly do both jobs or so says BAE although it would not be as capable as the Type 45’s it should still be a capable system. It should lower costs as well but I would doubt by a large amount as most of the money is in the actual combat control system rather than the radar.
FlubbaThe drawings mostly cover from the waterline upwards, its extra work to try and work out propeller placing and sizes etc as well as all the other features on a ship’s hull. Furthermore things below the waterline are harder to find online as nobody can really take up to date pictures of the hull.
FlubbaIf we decided to only cover only UK procurement problems I’m pretty sure we would have people committing suicide and the possibility of it killing the forum if someone posted it.
FlubbaHmm! The F-22 could have been carrying reflectors but them again it may not have been anyway the physics still shows the F-22 would still be detectable at a decent range with an L-band radar and a powerful X-band radar. This could have happened and could have happened without the radar reflectors as I’m sure the USAF would always like to gather data on the aircraft as well as foreign radar systems. The F-22 design is designed to help hide it from enemy fighter radars rather than far more powerful ship based radars. Not to mention you could always look for the moving hole in the clutter like the lovely radar operators onboard Type 42’s in the Gulf in 1991.
FlubbaAs far as I’m aware the main differences between the HM.1 and HM.2 standards AFAIK are mainly in the computer systems. The HM.1 currently uses an outdated computer system designed In the 90’s and with proprietary processors and components the new mission computer systems will use COTS and MOTS components and will be much easier to upgrade. This new computer system should lower costs and be far simpler to apply software or hardware upgrades to as well as lowering support and training costs. The cockpit will also be updated to an all digital standard and a new flight control system will also be integrated. Other changes will be updates to the engine hardware and software, the rotors will no doubt be replaced with the latest BERP blades and other hardware and software updates will be applied across the airframe.
I personally think reducing the ASW Merlin fleet to 30 airframes could turn out to be a poor decision if any submarine threat emerges. I would rather all of the current 42 airframes be fully converted to the new standard and additional airframes bought if the MoD decided to go down the rotary AEW route again.
FlubbaI’m not surprised that an F-22 would get spotted so far away as it was up against an L-band radar and a very powerful one at that. Coupled with the X-band APAR radar the F-22 would stand very little chance of being able to hide from a well developed AAW system operated by competent people. If people know much about radar bands and the frequencies in these bands as well as the processing techniques used to extract target information add that to a basic knowledge if stealth this will not be surprising. That is of course if this did happen but things like this do happen all the time but we just don’t hear about them.
FlubbaSens the customers may have left Afghanistan but you never know politicians are extremely stupid people and don’t like admitting they were wrong. However yes I would imagine you are correct the customers should be free of the shackles of Afghanistan and onto the next daft adventure maybe somewhere with trees and a beach this time?
Flubbahttp://www.naval-history.net/FpxAAscension.htm
This website was linked to on the Falklands war website but I pulled it from a links folder I had so here we are anyway. It’s an excellent website and is well worth a look if you are interested in the RAF side of things. There is also another website out there about Ascension island which is also excellent but I’ve no idea where to find it again, it was a diary/blog by a couple that visited the island.
FlubbaJust a few quick words conscripts don’t have to be crap soldiers just look at other countries with conscripts within the Armed Forces people don’t seem to know much about modern conscripts. Look at the Scandinavian nations they use conscription but the people are extremely competent and professional, I wouldn’t dare walk up and tell them they are not as good as a full time solider. Conscripts are no longer scrawny overworked young men poorly equipped and motivated living in damp cold accommodation modern conscripts are trained and equipped to the same standards as professional soldiers. I don’t think people are suggesting we use conscripts as front line soldiers but more as support personnel as they are used in other nations so that more of the full time military can be deployable on the ground. This would be a sensible option in my view as it would lessen the danger of conscripts being killed while ensuring they learn from the experience.
I used to talk to a guy who I knew online and he spent time in the Finnish Border Guard and he learned to drive, maintain the vehicles he was taught to drive and many other things. That experience has served him well and he has used the skills he learned in the Border Guard in a job in civilian life.
The Falklands was a pretty unique situation as the conscripts were not properly trained, equipped or supplied and even if they were they were not up against basic run of the mill infantry. They were facing Royal Marine’s and Para’s who are extremely well trained in many different environments and are well known to be among the best infantry on the planet.
FlubbaNational Service would be of massive benefit to the Armed Forces and the nation as a whole. But As people have just commented it would be better to increase the size of the army by giving them more money to train the people that volunteer which there seems to be little problem with. I think it would be a good idea in some respects. For instance it would give people more respect for each other and enforce the idea of authority in the younger generation who don’t like being told what to do. Another thing I see as a huge bonus is the education it will give people which will surely help them get employed if they actually learn something of use. Realistically it would be politically impossible to implicate and would be suicidal for a Government or political party to try and implement and would possibly be cancelled by the next Government.
I wouldn’t actually mind something like what Sir Michael Caine suggested a National Service for the nation rather than the military to train and educate people.
Flubba@Flubba: A lot of those mechanised troops are deployed even if the tanks aren’t. Some are filling infantry posts, with plenty more still acting as drivers etc.
Yeah sorry I should have noted that in my post.
FlubbaI would suspect that is very much the case as there is no obvious practical reasons for basing them in Hungary. It does send a very strong signal to Russia but whether that is a good idea or a bad idea is debatable.
FlubbaWhy only 6 months in 24? Well training takes a long time to both work up for deployment and work down from coming home. These figures are worked out by some clever people as to avoid and lower stress as well as various other things. Stress as in emotional stress on families, relationships and individuals which is very important as the last thing we want is people coming home only to have trouble adapting to normal life again. Stress can cause many problems from varying mental conditions, emotional states etc and can be very traumatic therefore it is best to take time care and attention looking after people that have just come back home. Failing to do so is not very pleasant for anyone and I think people will have an idea what can and does happen when harmony rules are broken and people are not cared for. Look what happened after almost every conflict that was documented, whole families were broken and some simply could not carry on
FlubbaSnow monkey made a good point about the NATO C-17’s they are based in Papa Hungary all alone where in my opinion it maybe would have been wiser to co-locate them with other C-17’s. It would either be with USAF aircraft in Germany or UK aircraft at Brize Norton which maybe could have saved something on maintenance costs. What I meant btw was aircraft owned and operated by a national air force, not a lease deal or a multinational organisation such as NATO. If you want to use the aircraft they are there and they belong to you the other options involve waiting for a leased aircraft to become available while also assuring the company that owns it the mission is not going to put an aircraft at risk. I would like to see the NATO fleet grow preferably into the double figures to improve the ability of European NATO members and PfP nations to deploy abroad. So yes technically true but in reality a little foggier.
Sign In
