What idiots think that you can have online discussions about secrets, & keep them secret? :confused: Doh!

There’s a lot to be said for a good old fashioned meeting in a room with no fancy electronic networks involved! 😀

I’ve a general question about the Rafale and instead of starting a new thread I thought I’d just ask it here 😉

First, the Rafale M doesn’t have a folding wing, I read in a book a while ago that this is because the multi-spar wing structure can’t be folded, but I’ve since read on various web forums that this was simply a cost cutting measure, so which is it?

Looks very impressive, hopefully what comes out of the other end of the sausage factory that is the MoD procurement process will live up to it. 🙁

If/when an FAA squadron stands up with F-35C, would the have an “alpha” symbol on the tail?:D

Speaking personally I think that No. 809 NAS would be a better choice for the RN’s first frontline CTOL unit since 1978 as it’s emblem is a Phoenix and that would be very appropriate for the occasion.

http://www.hms-vengeance.co.uk/images5/809.gif

I wish I could be as optimistic as you about the future. All we know for a fact is that here and now we have no carrier capacity, and the fixed wing Fleet Air Arm is dead. In future we might have one carrier equipped to operate F35Cs, and occasionally the RAF might even let some of them operate from it, assuming we even end up buying the F35C when all is said and done. But seriously, this coalition government has done more damage to the Royal Navy than any other in history. They have no strategic interest in the Navy, and just seem to see it as a cost to be cut. If we really do end up with a fleet of 140 fast jets I will be amazed!

No political party has been good on defence over the last 50 years, a combination of economic weakness, lack of political courage to tackle the real money pits like the NHS and welfare and an increasing lack of interest in defence issues from the electorate has made defence an easy target when the economy has regularly hit the wall. The sad fact is that the state of the public finances and the total mess the MoD budget was in meant that huge cuts were inevitable no matter who was in power.

And given Labour’s role in creating the said messes I fail to see why they would be any better. They’re all as bad as each other. 😡

Yes, it’s not just the case with the MOD though the public sector are suckers when it comes to negotiating contracts for infrastructure and equipement purchases, just look at how many IT projects are delivered late, vastly over budget and not fit for purposes.

Companies bidding for these contracts deliberately low ball them in the knowledge that the contract isn’t worth the paper it is written on and won’t deliver what the customer (Government) wants, they do this in the sure knowledge that additional funds will be made available to put it right.

I know all about that! I work as a town planner in Northern Ireland, in 2004 the Agency decided to get a new IT system they received a bid costed at £9 million with an in service date of mid 2006. Shortly before it was due to go live they started the user tests on it, they quickly discovered that the new system had no provision for staff to write site reports, the single most important part of the process. The reason why was because senior management hadn’t specified that requirement in the original specification, the people in question were all of an admin background and had never worked in a frontline role! Try to imagine a new assault rifle for the Army that doesn’t have a magazine, that’s how fundamental an omission this was! 😮

So the system had to be taken away for a complete rebuild, it only went live a year ago, the cost of development and also of keeping the old system going beyond it’s projected end date is near £30 million! Of course the people responsible for the original balls up were quietly shuffled off before the **** hit the fan and are probably still ballsing up another Agency. 😡

Of course retaining the ski jump mans that Lusty can still be used for operations with USMC, Spanish or Italian Harriers if the need ever arose.