I’m not with you on this. If the British governments position is non-intervention unless interests are directly threatened I can see the loss of a couple of LSD’s and Ocean as a trade off for CVF

I see your point, but must respectfully disagree. A force like the Royal Marines has much more utility for the entire spectrum of military needs then armour heavy mechanized forces do. If you decide to keep the marines then they must have the meqans to get across the beach. One implies the need for the other.

And ships like Albion, Bulwark and Ocean are certainly also useful in disaster relief, evacuation of British or allied citizens from disaster or conflict zones, the stuff that politicians all love taking credit for.

Is there any fall back position if Bulava turns out to be a failure?

Could the Borei Class be fitted with Sineva perhaps??

My understanding is that Brimstone is only currently integrated on Tornado GR.4 and Harrier GR.7/9 aircraft. I am not even sure if the UK has integrated it upon their Apache AH.1’s or not.

As discussed in these forums previously, integration of a weapon like this say on a L-159 for example is not just a matter of “plug and play”. Aerodynamic testing, aircraft stability, seperation testing, investigation of the weapon use envelope and getting the bloody things (missile, sensors and aircraft) to talk to one another correctly is a surprisingly costly and time consuming bit of business.

The list of aircraft sounds like marketing bumph to me.

Canadian jets repel Russian bombers

Canadian jets repel Russian bombers

http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2010/07/30/14874221.html

OTTAWA – Canadian fighter jets scrambled to repel Russian bombers that made several attempts to probe Canadian airspace on Wednesday.

QMI Agency has learned that two CF-18s took off from CFB Bagotville to intercept two TU-95 long range bombers about 463 km east of Goose Bay, N.L.

Attempts by Russia to test Canadian airspace have been going on since 2007; military and intelligence analysts tell QMI Agency the frequency has been increasing since then, but one senior official described Wednesday’s event as “not the usual s–t.”

“The response as always was a rapid, effective deterrent,” Defence Minister Peter MacKay told QMI Agency.

“They were in the buffer zone,” said MacKay, stressing that although the planes did not enter Canada’s sovereign airspace, the bombers did come inside the 300 nautical mile zone that Canada claims.

“They did not give us any advance notice,” said MacKay, adding that NORAD fighter jets have intercepted between 12 and 18 Russian bombers per year since 2007. After the CF-18s made contact with the Russians the pilots shadowed them until the bombers turned northeast and headed out of Canadian airspace.

The TU-95 bomber, known as the Bear, is capable of carrying nuclear weapons and may have been loaded with warheads on this trip. One military analyst tells QMI Agency the Russians have been known to fly with nukes on board just to flex their muscle and prove to the world they are still a powerful country.

“We certainly weren’t aware of what if any weapons were on board,” said MacKay.

Canada is in a race with Russia and other Arctic nations to lay claim to the frozen territory that may hold untold treasures.

Geologists believe the Arctic shelf holds vast stores of oil, natural gas, diamonds, gold and minerals. A 2007 Russian intelligence report predicted that conflict with other Arctic nations is a distinct possibility, including military action “in a competition for resources.” The United States, Norway, and Denmark (through Greenland) also lay claim to portions of the Arctic seabed based on their coastal waters.

China, which does not have an Arctic coast, has sent icebreakers and ships into the Arctic Ocean. A Chinese admiral said earlier this year since China has 20% of the world’s population, they should have 20% of Arctic resources.

The incursion into Canadian airspace also comes as debate rages over whether Canada needs the next generation of fighter jets to replace the nearly 30-year-old CF 18s. The Harper government has committed to buying 65 F-35 stealth fighters at a cost of $9 billion. Critics have said such Cold War-type jets are no longer needed.

Rob Huebert of the University of Calgary’s Centre for Military and Strategic Studies tells QMI Agency the Canadian Air Force needs to upgrade its fleet now that Russia is upgrading its bombers.

“The mere fact that the Russians are building the next generation of bombers means that we need something or we need to accept that the Americans will do it for us,” Huebert said.

“This is about a Russian military resurgence, the Russians asserting their authority in the north,” military analyst Mercedes Stephenson told QMI Agency.

Stephenson says that after the Cold War ended the Russian military was in a shambles but the last few years have seen a lot of money poured into restoring past glories, particularly in the air force.

Asked if he was playing up this Russian incursion to boost support for the F-35 purchase, MacKay said no.

“Surely even the most cynical, partisan person would not suggest that we engineered the visit of a Russian bomber to boost support for our air force,” said MacKay.

Previous Russian incursions into Canadian airspace

February 2009: Hours before U.S. President Barack Obama’s big visit to Canada, two Russian bombers were intercepted just outside the Canadian Arctic. Two Canadian CF-18s were dispatched to signal the Russian aircraft to turn back to its own airspace. The Russians called Canada’s reaction “a farce.” General Walter Natynczyk, the chief of the defence staff, said, at the time, sporadic incidences of Russian incursions had started in 2007 after many years of no activity.

August 2008: Canadian jets scrambled during a visit by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to Inuvik in the Arctic to intercept an aircraft nearing Canada’s airspace. Defence Minister Peter MacKay said Russians were unwilling to notify Canada of planned military flights nearing our airspace.

September 2007: Russians boasted that two of their Tu-95 bombers flew along the coasts of Alaska and Canada and returned via the North Pole during a 17-hour flight. They said their flight was accompanied by NATO planes.

CH-148 Cyclone Canadian Navy Maritime Helicopter contract renegotiated

CH-148 Cyclone Canadian Navy Maritime Helicopter contract renegotiated

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/07/26/navy-cyclone-helicopters.html

The federal government is dropping key performance standards for navy helicopters due this fall in exchange for the manufacturer’s promise to guarantee another $80 million in work to Canadian aerospace companies.

spokesman for the federal Department of Public Works says the first Cyclone choppers that fly from the navy’s frigates won’t have a system allowing some secret tactical information to be exchanged between ships and helicopters.

That was one of the original requirements in the $5.1-billion contract to build and service the 28 helicopters, which are over three years behind the original schedule.

In addition, the first six helicopters being built by U.S.-based Sikorsky no longer have to pass an endurance test for flying in warmer temperatures.

The software for some military missions, such as the sonars, also won’t be completed by the fall.

A spokesman says that because of the delay, Sikorsky is promising to provide an additional $80 million in service contracts to Canadian aerospace industries and that Ottawa would receive up to $30 million if there are future sales of the Cyclones to other countries.

A spokesman for the Defence Department says Ottawa believes that the first six helicopters can still be used for training until helicopters that meet the standards arrive in June 2012.

F-16 is a fighter. It was designed like an almost pure fighter from the very start.
F-18 is a bomb truck. A good one, but it ain’t a fighter, compared to F-16 it’s a slouch. It might have respectable noise pointing ability at high AoA but its speed, acceleration or agility are below average. You would not want to be sitting in one in combat against any 4th gen fighter.

F-35 is just the same like F-18. Except it has one engine only, quite a pain for carrier-borne ops.

And as a Canadian, quite a pain to fly on a missino over the high Arctic to intercept a Bear or Blackjack on one engine.

EADS guys are very optimistic about Typhoons chances in MRCA off-late, they think they have a 60% chance of winning it.

Could very well happen IMHO, Obama admin is giving India the cold shoulder, which may limit U.S purchases to Choppers and Transports. French hasn’t shown that much enthusiasm throughout the MRCA process and are trying to squeeze a few Rafales in outside the dealSweden being a light weight is not that good for the Gripen. . And with the weak Euro could very well have Typhoon in Indian colours one day.

I am absolutely certain that India will not want pre-owned typhoons but on a temporary basis.

Having some Jaguars come off the RAF’s original order and get allocated to teh IAF certainly helped the plane to get chosen by India originally did it not?