It was a C-5 Galaxy, serial 69-0012. Callsign Reach 638. It had an inflight emergency – No.4 outboard engine out and hydraulic failure after it left Ramstein. The C-5 landed safely at Mildenhall.

Info from Fighter Control. Possibly you will have to register to see the thread?

http://www.fightercontrol.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=66547

Also see following

http://www.transmission1.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=31039

Of course the Cold War had ended but the scenario was still a potential threat to be countered. The Russians don’t fly their out of area long range missions just for the fun of it. They are training their crews for their mission to launch nuclear air launched cruise missiles as part of their triad system.

A Russian bomber exercise had started on the 10th September 2001 and the US/Canada had already pre-positioned additional fighters in preparation for the incursions into the air defence identification zones.

A large Pacific area air exercise involving Tu-160, Tu-95 and Tu-22 strategic and theater bombers was to have begun on September 10. Blackjack bombers were spotted at Anadyr AB, and additional U.S. and Canadian interceptors were moved to the area to monitor the exercise. The Russian Defense Ministry cancelled the exercise after the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington at the request of the U.S. Government, to ensure that there would be no accidental incidents involving Russian aircraft flying near U.S. borders.

http://www.nrdc.org/nuclear/nudb/datab14.asp

Don’t they still come down the Iceland Gap and test the RAF response?

There were two Tu-95 Bear Hs in the North Sea on the 11th September 2012. Luftwaffe F-4 Phantoms even got to play this time they were that far south.

http://en.ria.ru/mlitary_news/20120912/175920165.html

See following link for Dutch F-16 QRA Scramble on 11th September 2012.

http://home.tiscali.nl/mysteryship/

Can today’s RAF’s typhoons use the cannon? I remember there were plans to delete it, then replace it with concrete, then with non working guns then perhaps with proper, working guns. So what is the outcome of all those decisions?

The decision to not support the cannon in RAF service was reversed in 2006.

At a conference last week, Air Vice-Marshal David Walker, the officer commanding No 1 Group, which includes the Harrier and the newly-forming Typhoon squadrons, said he had decided to proceed with the Typhoon gun, buying ammunition, spares and maintenance equipment.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1530420/Typhoon-wins-gun-dogfight.html

2007 work up with cannon

Several pilots from the RAF’s 3 Sqn – its first frontline unit to have received the Typhoon, initially for use only for air defence purposes – took part in the exercise, where around 700 rounds were also fired from the type’s Mauser 27mm cannon. More work needs to be done with the reactivated weapon, but Atha says: “As a first step, we’re there.”

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/eurofighter-typhoon-proves-close-air-support-credentials-for-raf-224826/

Green Flag during 2008 – cannon fired.

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/tna/+/http://www.mod.uk:80/defenceinternet/defencenews/equipmentandlogistics/typhoonprovesitsairsurfacecapability.htm

http://articles.janes.com/articles/Janes-Defence-Weekly-2008/RAF-Typhoons-conduct-Mauser-BK-27-test-firings.html

‘Tests have been carried out on a spade found buried on Saddleworth Moor to establish whether it has any connection to the Moors murders.’

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/9514984/Tests-carried-out-on-Moors-murders-spade.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2196952/Rusty-spade-unlock-final-resting-place-Moors-Murder-victim-Keith-Bennett.html

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/moors-murders-spade-clue-could-1296421

A number of spades have been recovered over the years on Saddleworth Moor.

Story from August 2012

http://www.onlinepublishingcompany.info/content/sitenewsreadmore/infobox/news/template/default/active_id/1200

In view of the fact, it is alleged that these Moors are Peat Moors, and as such, even if Brady were to take the Police to where he (After all these years) Brady buried the young lad, I doubt it would be in the same place. I.M.H.O. I don’t think he would now, have a clue as to where it may be.

It is believed by Police Officers involved and also Keith’s brother Alan that when Brady was taken to the Moors that it was simply another one of his mind games. During two visits to the Moors Brady claimed that he became disorientated and the search was called off.

It is believed that Brady used the visits to re-visit and covertly re-check it. Remember that both Brady and Hindley would re-visit the grave sites and take photographs. Hindley revealed that Brady had taken a photograph of Keith Bennett’s grave but that they later destroyed it.

Based on Hindley’s recounts, and also certain areas where Brady took the team, Keith’s brother Alan and friends today search in two specific locations. Alan describes the locations as being roughly football field in size and two miles apart.

Hopefully they can recover Keith’s body before Brady dies. Brady has already hinted on a ‘surprise’ after his death. Keith Bennett’s family believe that some of Brady’s supporters and friends (Yes hard to believe but they exist!) supported him in smuggling out a manuscript for his autobiography. Not hard to imagine after Brady with the help of one supporter actually smuggled a manuscript out of prison that resulted in a book being published! The book is called ‘The Gates of Janus: Serial Killing and Its Analysis’ Simply staggering that any publisher would want to publish it, but they did.

The Bennett family have called on the house of Dr Alan Keightley to be searched for any clues as to the location of Keith’s body. Keightley smuggled the manuscript out for the book and is his legal heir.

There is a claim in the following programme that Brady’s mental health worker passed the letter back to him. Keightley also appears in the programme and is a very creepy individual indeed.

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/ian-brady-endgames-of-a-psychopath/4od

The programme is also available on You Tube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9zg6WY6_UA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IlZZvloyFA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xpspC4Smbc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTP7HBVC_N8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrZElh508cI

Alan Bennett, Keith’s brother, and his partner Carol Ann Lee run the following website and forum. Alan posts as ‘ab’ and is always open to discuss the search for his brother. Alan believes that advances in technology will one day help in locating Keith’s body.

http://searchingforkeith.forumcircle.com/viewforum.php?f=1&

http://www.searchingforkeith.com/

Fair point but just 6 aircraft firing Storm Shadows hardly validates the purchase of the weapon.

I fail to see your point in the number of missiles fired. Why waste missiles with unique capababilites against targets that don’t require it?

That mission wasn’t the only use of Storm Shadow in Libya.

Our Tornado GR4s flew 12 STORM SHADOW missions in 3 waves, each supported by VC-10 and Tristar tankers. They, uniquely in the UK’s inventory, had the ability to successfully attack key hardened installations and weapons storage facilities. Just how appropriate this capability is to the complex and cluttered contemporary battlespace, was demonstrated on the second night when the attack was aborted moments before weapon release due to the receipt of near real-time intelligence suggesting the presence of civilians (a CNN news team) in the area. The aircraft returned to the UK carrying their weapons, supported by refuelling from VC10’s and Tristar; thus again reinforcing the flexibility of air power.

http://www.raf-families-federation.org.uk/policies-news.asp?id=897

During Telic (Iraq) some 27 Storm Shadows were fired.

http://www.mbda-systems.com/mediagallery/files/STORM-SHADOW-SCALP_background.pdf

Storm Shadow apparently has advantages over TLAM in UK service. That has already been highlighted over the years on PPRuNe/ **** and the like. I’ve seen posts on PPRuNe re-enforcing the point to the TLAM/Storm Shadow debates that Storm Shadow has unique capabilities. I would imagine that is down to the warhead and its penetration capabilities?

If you think that TLAM could have done the job of Storm Shadow, clearly you don’t know enough about the weapons. The USN fired something like 102 TLAM on the first night, but the USAF still needed to drop several times that many bombs, and Storm Shadow was required as well – TLAM has a comparatively small warhead (just under a 500lb yield) and no penetrative capability. It has basically no capability against bunkers and other hardened targets.

http://www.pprune.org/military-aircrew/465848-carrier-borne-vc10-sentry-anyone-3.html#post6744466

He’s not making any Pagean/Wardian arguments, but raising the question of why Storm Shadow appears to have been used in greater numbers than TLAM when some of the target sets might have been engaged by either system. From what I’ve gathered, the rationale behind this wasn’t to do with the RAF hogging the limelight; however, since I gathered this at a brief which was classified at a ‘Not To Appear on Arrse or PPrune, please’ level, I think I’d best leave it there…

http://www.arrse.co.uk/content/1162-vulcan-607-rowland-white.html

Will F-35 have A2A RF Probes or not??

F-35B and C already have the probes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xqYVDbdouo

Probes on the F-35A is a customer optional fit. For example Canada.

A: O’Bryan: “We anticipated a number of the operators would want probe-and-drogue refueling in the F-35A and we kept that space empty on the F-35A to accommodate probe and drogue refueling. We‘ve done a number of studies – funded studies, not projects – funded studies to evaluate that, paid for by the countries who want that to happen. It’s a relatively easy … doable change.”…

http://www.dodbuzz.com/2012/06/19/lockheeds-comprehensive-qa-on-the-f-35/

Dont worry about it !! Most other countries fly our union flag upside down .

US Marine Corps with the Canadian Flag, Atlanta 1992.