Fanboy alert :rolleyes:

Nic

Doesnt that apply to most posts in this thread who appear to be either Rafale or Eurofighter fanboys 🙁

Wow, when did this happen?

http://http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article1819080.ece

Last week apparently !

Thanks for the answers, just another quickie are the RAF and RN now both receiving the F-35C now?
I work along side a couple of RN pilots that are due to depart for Super Hornet training in the States and we were putting 2 and 2 together at work, but getting 5!

That’s to get the RN pilots back into supersonic fixed wing COTOBAR carrier operations, originally it was intended to be with the USMC so they could get Hornet & AV-8B training with the hope that F-35B aircraft would start to role out to training units.
The idea is to give a core of FAA pilots enough experience to work up and act as instructors when our own F-35s start to be delivered. They are on Super Hornets at present becuase it will be some time before F-35C squadrons appear in the USN, so the next best thing is the Super Hornet.

However given the delays in the F-35C program to date and a chance other hurdles may put back deliveries even further then i wouldn’t be surprised after 2015 if a squadrons worth of Super Hornets were leased by the UK to act as a stop gap whilst awaiting the F-35C in order to get the pilots and groundcrew upto speed before then working up HMS Queen Elizabeth when she’s ready for Aircraft trials towards the end of the decade !. (I still think the ship will be launched in the next 4 years and will start sea trials by about 2016 as there’s alot of ship to test and work up before they start fitting the CATOBAR gear – they need to test and evaluate the design, build and performance so any changes can be incorporate into PoW whilst before its launched).

http://http://www.baesystems.com/BAEProd/groups/public/documents/bae_publication/bae_pdf_qec_datasheet.pdf

The large scale pictures show a much more angled deck and other differences from earlier artwork, could be the real thing.

Converteam were given a £650,000 contract to build a 100m demonstrator EMCAT, any news?

Some interesting features, going off the two differnet images it looks like they are still indecided on the format of the port side weapon sponsons ahead of the angled deck, although i cant see the LS-30 mounting staying there in such close poximity to the angled deck and catapult flight path !.

Re Converteam, i doubt we will hear anything until the have designed and buiilt a 100m device and succesfully demonstrated it, speaking of which is the Empcat test system issues resolved following their test launch last December ?

Another example of the old adage that “a boat is a hole in the water, into which you pour money”

The carriers are still good value for money, considering how much was blown on Nimrod MRA4, what Typhoon has actually cost and what F-35 will really cost

Yet F-35 stays ahead of its flight test schedule despite issues.

Pardon, how many years behind schedule is it now ?, you should really remember to put it in context in that its a ahead of its current adjusted flight test schedule due to being so far behind where it was supposed to be !

The names are actually well choosen, as it will be a brave PM that dares go to the monarch and says they are scrapping or selling the ship named in honour of (Ones self/Mother/Grandmother Or Son/Ones self/father – delete as applicable depending who actually wears the crown at that point !!!).

G

sorry to say but i think that OCPV and GCS style ships will be designed and built in Australia….. there is a big focus on indigenous ship building…. the only reason the LHDs were built in Spain is we couldnt have built them in the time frame required…. were as OCPVs could be built here already and GCS could without alot of effort!

I suspect they are talking about a common design, pooling resources & funds in the design & development phase to produce a next generation Frigate that suites both navies and in doing so becomes more attractive for possible export customers. BAE shipyards operate in both countries so expect the ships to be built locally.

The concern is to keep costs down and produce an affordable, capable and flexible design.

G