There are still some MirageIII flying out there 😉

Yes and the Pak AF ones have had a very good upgrade but they are now being replaced by JF-17 due to age

You don’t replace a Mirage F1 with a JF17. Dynamically its performances are still the best of the two and with a cheap upgrade its systems will certain outmatch that of the later. Add training, spare etc.. And This would be money lost for nothing

There is no bigger fan of the Mirage F-1 MF2000 than me however it is unlikely that Iran will get the MF-2000 upgrade and the toy box that goes with it. However 120 JF-17’s built on an in house line will have some big pluses and operating 120 of one type over 24 of this one 30 of that one 50 of another will cut the training and logistics problems. remember that the MF-2000 upgrade costs 15 million dollars

Wonderful headline journalism there…..’foreign fighters’ being a new name for recruits from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland etc which is nothing really strange as its been going on to a greater or lesser degree since WWII.

And as far back as Trafalgar

Now that is one of the better question we have had. I think it finally dawning on those who have looked at the video(s) that the manoeuvre to reposition looked a little odd, why we will hopefully find out in due course, and whatever was never going to be a loop. Has anyone seen this hunter display before? Were you expecting a half cuban, which may have put him back out at sea before getting down to display height or a reverse half cuban which is what transpired or was a wingover what was expected, which changed for some reason.

I have witnessed 2 other close calls at that end of Shoreham, (and one fatality) one by a Mustang doing a barrel roll and another by a Vampire doing the same manoeuvre. I’m just thinking can pilots become disoriented by the high ground? Does Shoreham require a special briefing?

Shoreham is a wonderful setting and for the appropriate display no more or less dangerous than anywhere else. But I think Bruce alluded to the fact that some places need to be looked at for their suitability for some types of display.

In answer to dose Shoreham need a special briefing. I have attended the pilot briefing at Shoreham twice over the years and it is very comprehensive right down to the route in to the field and out to the sea. this said Andy would of had a phone briefing

I’m glad you asked that! Suggests that the received wisdom that the RN needs loads of oceanic PVs might be wrong. Maybe all those anti drug and anti pray tasking for frigates are actually appropriate tastings for frigates?

However if the Batch 2 River Class 90m OPVs were to have a telescopic hangar in place of the crane to allow extened helo ops and a scaneagle system for 24 hr eyes over the horizion plus be up gunned to a 57mm they would be able to carry out this tasking for a fraction of the the cost of a Frigate (the 57mm is just a nice touch not really needed for this tasking)

I must note that the RN and British pubic need to keep an eye out and make sure they get the 13 Type 26’s as this will give the RN a fighting fleet of just 19 frigates and Destroyers

We can talk up the pros and cons of each type but it is the system that holds the key here if the Swiss have to scramble jets for anything other than a airliner or nosey combat jet then the game is over and Germany and Italy are on there knees lets not forget that the Swiss only have a full time air-force of 1600 so any new type needs to be operated by the militia both pilots and ground staff and in real world terms Gripen E or even C to that matter can carry out all of the missions laid down by the Swiss planning teams. lets also remember that all the militia pilots that fly the F-5 hold the key skills to operate Gripen

Its the system in which the aircraft type will have to work in SH – F-15 are to big for the dispersed sites and I don’t know if Typhoon could operate from said sites

To me, the question is, what’s our requirement, & what’s the best way to meet it?

If we need UK-specific electronics (comms, whatever), & ability to operate off ships, how much will that cost to add to the AH-64E?
Alternatively, how much would it cost to bring the WAH-64D up to AH-64E standard without losing the features our armed forces insist on?

I can easily imagine the AH-64E being sold on the basis of being cheaper, then being customised, thus pushing the price through the roof. Wouldn’t be the first such deal.

If we don’t need any of the WAH-64 specific features, who should be shot for adding them?

Talking to the guys at Wattisham WAH-64 is not de-signed to be at sea and suffers from water ingress to vital parts plus the air-frame it self suffers from salt corrosion. It takes many man hours trying to keep water and salt out or sorting it out if it gets in

So what the Army want is to start with a new air-frame so they can address these corp problems and then build on what they have also as said they would like to keep the Engine as the UK will operate 4 helicopter types from the new Carriers the Army and Navy will use just 2 engine types