Going to get shot down for this, but if the Sea Gripen was developed and certified it would be a great alternative to the JSF for Britains carriers, and they could probably be bought in greater numbers……holding my breath!

Plus one

Then:
USN is so happy at death of JSF that they ship S3s over for free for all the three letter work on CVFs as sign of gratitude.
In a fit of generosity UK donates a couple of spares to France
Sarkosi goes back on his thoughts ref flat tops and orders another CVF
UK, France and USN collaborate on next gen organic naval AEW
(USN of course will have a new airframe for systems)

Decision is made to build a new Frigate for USN
Similar mission to OHP but podded electric propulsion allows for more internal volume
US cleans up on warship export market

USAF is so happy at death of JSF that they ship surplus A10Cs over to RAF (surplus as they go with new build 2 seat all weather A10s for CAS themselves)
LM are bright enough to see way wind is blowing and so show that F/A22 is much cheaper than F35 so USAF buys more F/A22s
ANG and Japan get F135 engined silent Eagle new builds

(I have pre emptively put two more peeps on my ignore list before sending this)

EDs have killed Abrams crews, what does that tell you about the “safest” western tank? Hmm..

Not a lot.

I’d second the opinion that Challenger 2 is the best protected western tank (but that is admittedly and unashamedly from my position as armchair admiral and nothing more).

The term IED covers a multitude of sins. (Including type, size, donor of is and placement of dangerous bit)

M1s have been used in a lot of operations.

Any tank has its weak points.

Policing actions force tankers to take their vehicles into situations which are sub-optimal.

The fact that two have been lost is a tragedy for the crews and their friends and families but tells us very little about the tank itself. If ALL M1s used in the war on/of terror had been lost to IEDs then that would be an enormous worry.

I think that’s what most of us are doing;)

If there is a person on this forum who isn’t:

a. doing exactly that
and
b. an unreasoning fanboy for at least one piece of nautical or aeronautical kit

Then I for one don’t trust them

At least it isn’t as bad as the last episode of the new Spooks series, they portray the Pakistani navy using shots of Tico’s/Burkes, and the Indian navy sub they are chasing surfaces and reveals itself to be a Vanguard.

…shocking.

Didn’t Pearl Harbour have shots of Kidds being blown up?

Maybe they assumed that the line “World War 2 just started” would trump any other historical inaccuracies.

At some point they wanted to put a Phalanx turret there, 20 years ago.

I’m as out-of-date as an out-of-date thing but I though that the plan was Phalanx between Mk8 and Sea Dart and then lightweight (4 cell) seawolf launchers port and starboard. One of the T42 even received the single Phalanz for’d before the plan was seen as being too expensive and instead T42s got Phalanx amidships.

Wonder how many Sea Dart missiles they still have …

Little known fact there is an army of Midlanders buidling Sea Darts in their sheds armed with nothing more than a pipe a moustache and a mechano set each.

Nah, he’s right, Scotland and England run different black projects. After all, no one in England knows what goes in Irn Bru, do they:cool:

What!? You mean that isn’t actually made from giiiirdurs?

Do you really not understand that a fleet does not – and should not – consist solely of out-and-out fighting ships?

Yeah baby. Taking the Dreadnought concept one step further.

That is brilliant, and I would pay serious money to see a raptor at an airshow painted like that

Airshow nothing. F22s should be painted like that at all times.

(If the decision can be made to change name from Lighning II to Raptor to cash in on the success of Jurassic Park and thus be more popular with voters then the funkiest paint scheme ever must be doable)