Really?

CVF Can be configured for CATOBAR, STOBAR and STOVL

They can, but Brazil might take quite a while to decide on what aircraft they would like to fly off their carrier – by that time the construction might already be too far along and the carrier would require a refit before construction was even complete!

Explosion at Fordow Nuclear Facility, Iran.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21230686

Not much hard news on this story yet but some agencies are suggesting that an aerial attack may have taken place.

Massive Ordnance Penetrator?

I think we’ll have to wait to see, but I have been wondering if the recent Israeli strikes on Sudan were something of a practice run.

Let’s hope peace prevails, whatever has happened.

Les Miserables
…

It’s a good movie and well worth a fiver to see big screen. It has more detail from the book than ever made the stage, but somehow it didn’t have quite the same impact.

…

And the female lead, Cosette is played by Amanda Seyfried, the goggle-eyed bird from Mama-Mia. She can’t sing, she can’t act and she doesn’t even look good or convincing. Once more acted and sung off the screen by Samantha Barks playing Éponine.

Moggy

Having only managed to get a few hundred pages into the book, and being a fan of the stage show, can you elaborate about what extra detail is in the film? I saw it yesterday and I concur, it was…different.

I agree with you too that Amanda Seyfried was definitely out sung by Samatha Barks. Seyfried had something of a warbling sound to her voice that was quite off-putting, but I thought her acting was ok.

Al, I think it’s important to realise that the things you list aren’t achievements of Nazism, they are achievements of German science and industry – and even then a great many of these things were tainted by the use of slave labour of Jews, Homosexuals, Gypsies, POWs and more.

As we all know the US is planning to redistribute its focus to Asia. This means more units deployed to Asia or rotated to Asia. The Navy will have 60% of its fleet assigned to Pacific.

With potential future budget cuts as well as possible changes in China relationship, this could be further adjusted in Pacific’s favour.

Right now NATO is highly reliant on US for many major functions – logistics, strategic transport, air to air refuelling, ISR, E3, ELINT, SEAD/DEAD and specialist ground attack (A-10A/C, AC-130, MQ-1).

Some of these assets are already being pulled out of European theatre – e.g. the only USAFE squadron with A-10A/C is scheduled to deactivate (and would appear to have already commenced deactivation: http://forum.scramble.nl/viewtopic.php?p=609334 ).

Also no F-22s have been deployed to USAFE though PACAF has 3 squadrons, and units in Japan are some of the first scheduled to get the F-35.

In Libya and Mali, we can see the US allowing NATO partners to take lead roles in actions with US support.

So what role does the European Air Force have in an Asian Century?

The Europeans seem lacking in many capabilities as listed above. Despite the low scale of Mali operation, NATO still had to chip in with tactical and strategic transport despite France having the most potent military in Europe.

Would the Europeans be able to conduct operations ala Kosovo 1999 or even Libya 2011 with limited access to US resources?

Are the Europeans planning to be militarily engaged in any US military operations in Asian region? E.g. would a war against China result in NATO forces being sent to Pacific?

Going through your points, while I agree that European Air Forces are too reliant on US support, I’m not sure it’s in the ways that you describe.

Logistics and Strategic transport are certainly an area where Europe lags, but then again, the UK has a small C-17 fleet, as does NATO, and I wouldn’t be surprised if France now sees the benefit of having this capability and gets some before the production line closes. When European nations need something more An-124s can be chartered, but for most individual European nations there simply isn’t the justification to operate a strategic transport fleet.

As for tanking, with the British and French A330s (if and when bought), Italian 767s, Dutch KDC-10s, German A310 MRTTs, Europe has enough tanking to get by, and the same can be said for E-3s.

SEAD/DEAD are a weakness, but the ‘specialist attack’ role as you put it is also a bit misdirected, as the A-10 is going to be retired by the US in the not too distant future, and replaced by the F-35, which will be in European service, as is the MQ-1/9, and similar UCAVs, whereas the AC-130 is very much a niche capability that is nice to have, but not vital.

From my armchair point of view, European forces are limited mainly by Intel/Electronic warfare capabilities (as you say), and numbers. Numbers of crews, aircraft and weapons on hand. In Lybia, European members of NATO were often limited by their low stocks of bombs/missiles. If the political will and economic basis for increased funding return then European nations can build up most capabilities they are lacking in like these even if buying from the US wasn’t an option.

If I was fitted with a device best described as a ‘I don’t give a f*ck-o-meter’ it would currently be reading well beyond the red zone–off the scale in fact.
These are countries far away from Bedfordshire and if a load of orientals want to slaughter each other in droves, then as far as I’m concerned they can get on with.
Please don’t bother disturbing the rest of us though.

A faraway country of which we know nothing?

CD.
Warren, exactly, Is that why Obama has TOLD Cameron, NOT to leave the E.U. as it may upset relasionships between the USA, and Russia? :confused: If so, we can expect never being given the chance to vote whether WE, Joe Public want to stay in or not.

Jim.
Lincoln .7

Not to take us off topic, but I think that Obama just offered some advice/opinion, he didn’t give the PM orders that had to be followed or anything.