Ja WorsleyJase1: mate thanks for the vote of confidence in our pilots! It is true that they are good at their work, I know a few and I envy every single one of them.
Still a lot of the defence analysits down here are all saying the same thing and they have all briefed the government on the same issues (myself included), the Super Bug isn’t up to the challenge of going against the Flankers (in any version). It’s not a question on how well a pilot knows his plane, it’s more to do with the Russian beast being better equiped for fighting- especially having them fitted with the TVC engines. Now if the Super Bug was fitted with TVC engines I could start to have some respect for it, heck even canards would make a nice start to improving the manouverability, but the American’s as so interested in their own forces having the best that they have forgotten to take time out to actually look at what they are up against.
The Flanker series of planes boasts some of the most impressive statistics ever seen on a plane- it’s sort of like a modern day Harrier going up against a Finger in te Falklands! The Flanker is simply going to knock down anything that gets in its way. It has far far more fuel than the Super Bug, can carry nearly twice as much ordanence and can litterally loop rings around the SB nearly three time with it’s impressive turn rate. The Flanker today has done what the F-86 did back in Korea- rewritten the way combat fighting is undertaken! To doubt its power is to have your last rights read to you by the priest!
Ja WorsleyNobody here ever flew one
Not yet PII, but then again that’s the advantage of being a photo/journalist 😉 If the RAAF does get them, I will be reporting on it live from the cockpit and you my friend will have the privalige of reading the report first. Favourable or not, I fully intend to find out what makes this plane interesting, I mean from the logistics point of view I can see why the RAAF are going for it, but ijn all other terms- I’ll reserve my judgement.
BUT I STILL DON’T LIKE THE BUG, SUPER OR OTHERWISE!
Ja WorsleyKRI Diponegoro (365) has started sea trials in the Netherlands, while KRI Hasanuddin (366) has just been launched and is currently fitting out. The other two vessels in the class: KRI Sultan Iskandar (367) and KRI Frans Kaisiepo (368) are still under various stages of construction in the Dutch yard. They are all of the Sigma design and fitted with COTS and MOTS equipment.
KRI Diponegoro (365)
KRI Hasanuddin (366)
Ja WorsleyWell after yesterdays announcement ($6 Billion to MAINTAIN AUSTRALIA’S REGIONAL AIR SUPERIORITY), I would like it to go on record that I was wrong on this matter- the Defence minister has officially called it and there is no going back now. I would therefore submit my resignation as an Australian Citizen on the grounds that this country’s leaders have obviously lost their minds and would like the tender to be opened immediately to any country who would like me to be a citizen.
What I have to offer to the new country will be discussed in a formal interview of suitable applicants who’s bribe level is within acceptable ranges! :dev2:
Ja WorsleyJase1: Mate you have to remember that the MRH-90 while originally european, is a totally different aircraft built in Australia (except for the first four of the Aussie order). These machines differe quite a lot from their European counterparts in many ways including the extremly high level of combat radars and IR equipment fitted.
You kiwi’s did the right thing in ordering them, the wrong thing was ordering so few but time will prove that, expecially with service on the new HMNZS Canterbury which is set to carry four of these machines. This leaves just four available for the Air Force daily duties, now with the NZ current operational tempo, deployments over seas including peace keeping duties in East Timor, Fiji, Bouganville and a host of other places, a follow on order would seem the logical thing. I’d say Helen Clarke is holding back in order to win her next election by promising more spent on defence.
It’s true the RNZAF has had a major body blow handed to it back in 2000, but you guys have to keep this in mind when you next hit the polls- Greenies never make the best pollies, get someone in there that has had some service time and I bet NZ becomes the fighting force it once was, reunite the Anzac spirit, pick up the torch that has been droped and carry on proudly!
Curious: Mate it’s inevitable that the EC-735 will fall away eventually, I mean look at the UH-1, used by just about everyone in the US armed forces, now only the Marines are carrying it on in the latest form. Nothing can last forever (sadly), but honour it with pride and dignity by placing some in museums for all to remember!
Ja WorsleyWan, thanks for the pics mate, though obvuiously one was not as advertised 😉
also it’s clear that you heisted one off the Lurssen site (I know as I have done the same with the same dark patch in the pic).
MConrads, great work mate, keep it up
Ja Worsleyhow can u predict it that it is going to increase tourism.
Simple, look at the pilgramiges that people are taking these days to view military related articles. Here in Australia since we started sinking ships as dive wrecks, tourism has increased by 500%, this co-insides with numbers passing through the numerous military museums around our country (presumably they gain the knowledge of where these vessels are during a visit to a museum and then go out and see it for themselves. It doesn’t take a brainiac to work out what’s going on here! Perhaps the museums should start looking at package deals in order to fund raise better 😉
can u tell when ur coming to india to see other one in mumbai
Been to Mumbai twice mate when I was in the navy, once I was not allowed off the ship as we were only there for an emergency refit, the other time I spent two days there, I walked around and was not impressed with how dirty the place was, what really turned me was the dead cow floating in the river right past a spot were people were bathing and washing their clothes. I know cows are sacred in India but polution is polution and the amount of diseases that I thought of in that carcas floating down just made me want to leave. As for INS Vikrant- interestingly enough she was in the docks getting a new paint job or something. I did see her in the naval berths, I would like to see her.
Ja WorsleyI know that the American version of the Air League has a whole heap of Civvy registered Cessnas on their books which they fly quite often. This could be just a stunt organised by the local organisation for a publisity stunt to get more recruits to join up. Considering the date of the pic I’d say you’ll see it rather soon in an advertising campegine
Ja WorsleyWhoa mate when you told me she’d run around I thought “oh yeah she’s logded herself on a sand bar”, but this is spectacular.
She must have been doing some speed to get so far up there like that.
Ja WorsleyDo you know how hard it is to find pics of the UAE and Bharain ships? I’ve been trying for years.
I happen to love these ships but getting pics of them is about as hard as getting pics of the Ecuadorian Esmeraldes class FFL’s
Ja WorsleyThe chances of the former HMS Hermes going back to England as a museum ship are comical to say the least. The politicians over there have all turned into a bunch of ignorant, tree huggers who care about trees alright, after all money is made from paper and papaer comes from trees- hence their love of trees (investment protection they call it).
The fact that this ship is full of asbestos is also a draw back- if you remove that then there’s less than half a ship remaining. English don’t give two hoots about ships anymore, look at the Minas Gerais fiasco, the last war built carrier served in three navies, served in Korea and did they care? Not a bit!
In all probability it will remain in India as a second museum ship on the opposite coast (giving them one on each side and thus increasing tourism to the country).
Ja WorsleyRead the bottom part mate, they are BN-2 Defenders, there was a recent story about the defenders in AFM, go back ad have a read as for pics, I did a thread about a month ago on the BN-2’s do a quick search for it and there are pics in it of the aircraft in question!
Ja WorsleyWell I guess it is time for me to put my two cents worth in
Fed: thanks mate for keeping me in mind, yes I have answered this a million times already but it’s ok.
The Present
OK Australia has only ordered 46 not 47 (12 initial and 34 additional), of these- 6 are going to the RAN (what a joke). More should be ordered once the new LHD’s are selected sometime soon. The Army are getting the rest to replace the Blackhawks which have never really been good for our army. The only thing that had going for them at the time was speed- we still have UH-1H’s in service because the S-70A-9’s were far too troublesome. As for replacements for the S-70B-2’s these actually are good machines but lack the ability to fire ASM’s- something the SH-2G’s were supposed to be able to do (hahahaha good joke). The Super Seasprites are nothing but the biggest joke in navy history and there is a federal ellection coming up and the opposition are using them as part of their ellection promise: (“We will take a good look at our defence needs and cut certain projects that are only chewing up money and not delivering the promised goods, two examples here are the Navy’s Seasprite Helicopters and the Air Force’s New Strike Fighter”- Kevin Rudd, Leader of the Opposition Labor Party speaking on Sunrise a couple of weeks ago when the ellection date was announced). Above this it is really clear as to how urgent our Seaking Mk-50’s need replacing and for the RAN to only get 6 MRH-90 helos I personally feel that the RAN which I served, has been robbed, they aren’t even going to be the NFH type.
The Future
Yes the MRH-90 is to replace a wide range of helos currently in the ADF, these initially include Seaking Mk-50’s, UH-1H, S-70A-9. The eventual aim is to replace these as well as the S-70B-2’s, SH-2G(A)’s and bring the total of different types in ADF service down from 8 to 5 (CH-47, MRH-90, Tiger, Light Utility/ Training Helo- to replace the Squirrels in service as well as some of the remaining OH-58A Kiowa’s the rest are to stay in service). Now the obserdity of this is that initially it boosts the number in service up to 9. They are also talking of having common engines in all the helos but I really can’t see that happening.
As for the Aussie Super Seasprites- nooooo they are not ready for service, and they really don’t ever look like they will be ready for service- the problem is that the government wanted to put far too much electronics into these machines. While there was an initial uproar about buying second hand helo’s you have to remember that this option was cheaper and included a zero hour work over of the air frames. this cheaper option provided the money for the problem solving of the Collins class subs which cost us AU$2.4B to get the USN to fix all six of them. The Kiwi’s didn’t have other pressing matters in their defence coffers so they splashed out (pardon the pun) and bought brand news machines with the original three man crew- ours due to the electronics in them, have only a two man crew. The Egyptians and the Polish also have the three man crew versions- so why does Australia feel the need to change a winning design? Simple- John Howard has Small Man Syndrome!
Helen Clarke announced that New Zeraland’s Air Force is re recieve 8 MRH-90 helos to replace the 14, 70’s Vintage UH-1H’s in service. All 8 are to be built in Brisbane and will be tacked on to Australia’s order of 46. They are to be exactly the same as those in the ADF service thus providing a cheaper solution to logistics for the machines.
Ja WorsleyWell thanks guys for thinking of me on this matter but Unicorn has summed it up in one hit, it’s just over reaction on the publics behalf which was hyped up by the media who don’t really know anything otherwise they would not have reported it.
ALL new projects have some sort of teething problems and this is Armidale’s.
I don’t see how they can be called too small as they are double the size of the Fremantle class. Sure they have less armourment but as was pointed out to me, the 25mm gun can knock out a rudder quicker and with more accuracy than the old 40/60 (doesn’t mean I still don’t think they are under armed just that I now have a deeper respect for what the gun can do).
The whole tender process was a bit odd as was this company gaining the contract. I personally know someone who was on the board dealing with the Patrol Boat replacement tenders and he was opposed to this boat, he said that something very strange was afoot with the deal as in the last few months he was locked out of the process- at the core of his (and my) concerns was the fact that these ships were made of Aluminium Alloy- a very very soft metal and not the best for high sea states, now considering the Aussie market had an abundance of this metal that they couldn’t get rid of on the international market, you see where the concerns start to play out!
Still, I know others who are serving on these boats and they love them, they say that these boats are ideal for the role and that all the rubbishing of them is unfounded- I reserve my judgement.
The procedures followed with the fleet wide stoppage on their use is the best thing and does indeed stem from the Westralia incident. We have seen it implimented on the Collins class, the Anzacs and now the Armi’s- best to play it safe than to loose more lives. The problem is a minor one and should see the fleet back up and running within a month.
Ja WorsleyPerhaps we should leave the debate over the Air capable Spruence class for a different thread, sifice to say that I have seen both designs and more.
As for the Fincanteri model there, What is it with designers these days, why are they leaving the front part of the flight deck off? Look at it, it’s like a bleeding brick wall, get a head wind and I’m sure it will be blown backwards, same goes for the Mistral class!
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