I read an article about this proposed system on defenceindustrydaily a few days ago. So this was the Raytheon/Grumman proposal for the Royal Navy’s MASC Merlin helos.:diablo:

If it has the same performance figures as the APG-80 it can be quite a formidable surveillance platform. The Royal Navy will probably choose the Searchwater-2000 suite(since it re-uses radars salvaged from the Nimrods) but this has the potential to be the best helo-based AEWC platform of them all.:cool:

I don’t think the Nimrods used Searchwater AEW, but a rather a different variant of the Searchwater, though it could be possible to modify one into the other. The helo Searchwater AEW radars could be taken from the existing AEW helicopters. The RN would be better off going for a fixed wing AEW rather than a helicopter.

It’s well suited to naval fleet defence but not so great for general AWACS type roles as it can’t fly high enough.

A dremel I had when I was a kid, then I realised a few years later that they are quite useful and went and got another one.

@Paul
Agreed!

@Lincoln 7
Slow and gentle is usually the best way to go when applying heat to things, especially valuable thing like a freezer 🙂 For future reference, just open the freezer with it switched off over a container and leave it for the day, it will defrost itself 😎

@Witcha

I believe within NATO is permitted as the MTCR does not apply to agreements made prior to it e.g the NATO agreement.

@TR1

It may just be limited to 290KM by software, with the Russians willing to “unlock” the missiles at a later date, or they could be lying, we’ll never know for sure.

@Witcha
I’m not talking about the Type 26 missiles, those haven’t been ordered, and so can’t be reduced to save money in the near term.

This seems to be a common misconception, I’m not sure where it comes from but I’d guess it’s source is a forum. UK has not axed Aster 15 it bought both, and in fact some of the test firings from the Londbow barge used Aster 15s.

No it was an article IIRC. It seemed fairly reasonable as it was around the time the MoD was trying to reduce the numbers of other types of missiles being procured. If I get a chance I’ll send them an FOI request and we can get a certain answer 🙂

@Witcha;1825978

Spain bought some, so they must be.

Spain’s military bought 43 missiles. The integration of the TAURUS in the Spanish Air Force service line has been certified by the successful completion of a dedicated test campaign in South Africa, carried out in May 2009.[7] Other countries may also order TAURUS.[8]

MBDA has offered Tauras KEPD 350 to the Indian Air Force for its Su 30 MKI fighter jets.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KEPD_350

So all Mildave can do is restate his personal opinion of how incapable and dependent the British aerospace and defence industry is, without actually giving us anything to prove it, so his claims have zero weight. The UK has fighter design/production capabilities (BAE Warton), military engine design/production (Rolls Royce, Bristol), EW systems/Radar/EO targetting/comms (Selex), more comms (Qinetiq)… also Honeywell UK, Thales UK aerospace and defence, Martin Baker, Goodrich with their respective subsystem fields…

Yeah and the F-22 use french tires…
What a poor argument
It’s like comparing the techology needed to build a plasma TV with that of the wood table you put the TV on.

key technology in a modern fighter :

engine
radar
INS
communictions
airframe design and materials
BVR A2Amissiles
Stand off A2G missiles
ECM
optronics
smart softwares and fast chips to run them

the rest is more or less irrelevent as far as sovereignty is concerned

Whenever I hear you call my argument poor I know It’s pretty much spot on, so thanks for that confirmation!

You seem to have forgotten actuation, climate/life support, ejection, and dedicated close range missiles from your list BTW :rolleyes:

@Mildave
Your post is long on opinion, mostly political, and short on fact. The UK has world leading companies in design and production of fighter engines, fighter aircraft, and the vital but often forgotten subsystems. The difference between can and do is irrelevant as both are correct with regard to the UK.