Search found 1423 matches

by NickC
12 Mar 2024, 10:59
Forum: Joint Service
Topic: Directed Energy Weapons
Replies: 40
Views: 2388
United Kingdom

Re: Directed Energy Weapons

Interesting March 1st interview on Breaking Defense with the US Army Vice Chief of Staff on DE M-SHORAD lasers, sending their four 50 kW prototypes to the Middle East for real world testing to see if they work in an atmosphere with dust particles as it starts to alter the physics of the light partic...
by NickC
11 Mar 2024, 10:56
Forum: Joint Service
Topic: Directed Energy Weapons
Replies: 40
Views: 2388
United Kingdom

Re: Directed Energy Weapons

Naval News write up on DragonFire demonstrator and possible follow-on with comments from MBDA and Leonardo (but none from QineteQ that makes the actual laser), no mention if MOD will fund new contract for the second gen military grade DragonFire based on the lessons learned from the £100 million pro...
by NickC
09 Mar 2024, 13:52
Forum: Conflicts
Topic: The war in Ukraine
Replies: 1156
Views: 84779
United Kingdom

Re: The war in Ukraine




X (Twitter) post claiming Ukraine Patriot launchers taken out by an Russian Iskander, if true a major success for the Russians in ability to target the launchers.
by NickC
03 Mar 2024, 13:34
Forum: Conflicts
Topic: RED SEA - Houthi attacks
Replies: 46
Views: 1461
United Kingdom

Re: RED SEA - Houthi attacks

Right so in an article whose two main themes seem to me to be a firstly concern about lack of co-operation due to the French\EU not wanting to be under US command so setting up there own separate Aspides operation and secondly the failure of Hessen's SM2 missile to work and that the SM2s can't be r...
by NickC
02 Mar 2024, 12:29
Forum: Conflicts
Topic: RED SEA - Houthi attacks
Replies: 46
Views: 1461
United Kingdom

Re: RED SEA - Houthi attacks

Right so in an article whose two main themes seem to me to be a firstly concern about lack of co-operation due to the French\EU not wanting to be under US command so setting up there own separate Aspides operation and secondly the failure of Hessen's SM2 missile to work and that the SM2s can't be r...
by NickC
01 Mar 2024, 15:41
Forum: Conflicts
Topic: RED SEA - Houthi attacks
Replies: 46
Views: 1461
United Kingdom

Re: RED SEA - Houthi attacks

A lot of info in the War Zone write up on the Western Navies in the Red Sea vs the Houthi and raises numerous questions It was confirmed the German Navy Type 124 Sachsen class frigate Hessen successfully shot down two drones, within 20 minutes of one another. Hessen intercepted the first drone using...
by NickC
27 Feb 2024, 15:53
Forum: Royal Navy
Topic: Type 26 Frigate (City Class) (RN) [News Only]
Replies: 5456
Views: 1463111
United Kingdom

Re: Type 26 Frigate (City Class) (RN) [News Only]

So just to keep up with the batch 2 costs to date so we can be clear So this is my understanding T-26B2 contract 4.2 billion Nov 2022 MOD order for 5 Mk-45 MIFS 181 million Feb 2023 MOD order 2150 sonars 30 million June 2023 This makes the unit cost of a Type 26B2 882 million we need to wait and fi...
by NickC
27 Feb 2024, 12:22
Forum: Defence Elsewhere
Topic: Italian Armed Forces
Replies: 936
Views: 60823
United Kingdom

Re: Italian Armed Forces

Italian Parliament has authorised two new FREMM Evo frigates which understand will take their fleet to 12 and replace the 2 sold to Egypt. The two FREMM Evo costing €2 billion (~£1.7Bn, £850M each), with upgrades to their CMS, radar and EW well as to the sonar, gun, comms and missile systems. The It...
by NickC
26 Feb 2024, 11:28
Forum: Royal Navy
Topic: Current & Future Escorts - General Discussion
Replies: 19146
Views: 7053072
United Kingdom

Re: Current & Future Escorts - General Discussion

Repulse wrote:- £4.2bn for the 5 batch 2 T26s. That figure is an RN provided figure! https://www.baesystems.com/en-uk/article/bae-systems-awarded-4-2bn-contract-to-build-five-more-type-26-frigates-in-glasgow Will it still be £4.2bn in 2033? We need to remember the on top of the 4.2 billion for the ...
by NickC
25 Feb 2024, 12:55
Forum: Royal Navy
Topic: Current & Future Escorts - General Discussion
Replies: 19146
Views: 7053072
United Kingdom

Re: Current & Future Escorts - General Discussion

Given the first T31 is being launched this year, unless I’ve missed it there seems a lack of recent information on what it will have out of the box, does anyone have any links? All the discussion seems to be based on what people want it to be rather than what it is - how many CAMM will it have (all...
by NickC
25 Feb 2024, 11:48
Forum: Conflicts
Topic: The war in Ukraine
Replies: 1156
Views: 84779
United Kingdom

Re: The war in Ukraine

Its not a small missile you would expect a AEW&C to be able to see a S-200 coming, if it cant see that what chance does it have against an F-22 or F-35 :wtf: I don't think any air force if that incompetent to shot down their own AEW&C :think: I just wonder if we are seeing the true capabili...
by NickC
24 Feb 2024, 18:33
Forum: Conflicts
Topic: The war in Ukraine
Replies: 1156
Views: 84779
United Kingdom

Re: The war in Ukraine

One Ukranian website think believable, beyond the range of a Patriot, earlier did see a Ukranian MOD X post saying they used a S-200, sure if you search Google you will find it, Russia claiming it was shot down by friendly fire and not for the first time when reporting their losses. https://www.prav...
by NickC
24 Feb 2024, 13:12
Forum: Conflicts
Topic: The war in Ukraine
Replies: 1156
Views: 84779
United Kingdom

Re: The war in Ukraine

Reported yesterday a second of Russia's limited number of operational (9?) A-50 AEW&C shot down, said to be 210 km from the front line with a 60 year old Ukrainian Soviet Union S-200.

Makes you wonder about the survivability of AEW&C a/c e.g. E-7 Wedgetail
by NickC
21 Feb 2024, 10:42
Forum: Joint Service
Topic: Directed Energy Weapons
Replies: 40
Views: 2388
United Kingdom

Re: Directed Energy Weapons

There is an assumption that lasers can defend against a high number of near simultaneous threats and do wonder if its a realistic assumption, surely it will depend on the targets resistance to heat and that will vary and the time the laser beam takes to burn thru, the power of the laser, the operat...
by NickC
20 Feb 2024, 10:42
Forum: Joint Service
Topic: Directed Energy Weapons
Replies: 40
Views: 2388
United Kingdom

Re: Directed Energy Weapons

There is an assumption that lasers can defend against a high number of near simultaneous threats and do wonder if its a realistic assumption, surely it will depend on the targets resistance to heat and that will vary and the time the laser beam takes to burn thru, the power of the laser, the operat...
by NickC
19 Feb 2024, 10:11
Forum: Joint Service
Topic: Directed Energy Weapons
Replies: 40
Views: 2388
United Kingdom

Re: Directed Energy Weapons

There is an assumption that lasers can defend against a high number of near simultaneous threats and do wonder if its a realistic assumption, surely it will depend on the targets resistance to heat and that will vary and the time the laser beam takes to burn thru, the power of the laser, the operat...
by NickC
18 Feb 2024, 12:26
Forum: Joint Service
Topic: Directed Energy Weapons
Replies: 40
Views: 2388
United Kingdom

Re: Directed Energy Weapons

I agree that LDEW are not the answer to all our protection needs. But, if a LDEW can be fitted.on warships and others then it's a means of defending against a high number of near simultaneous threats without the limitations of ready missiles. There is an assumption that lasers can defend against a ...
by NickC
17 Feb 2024, 10:45
Forum: Joint Service
Topic: Directed Energy Weapons
Replies: 40
Views: 2388
United Kingdom

Re: Directed Energy Weapons

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSQVZnU0VVc What a load of drivel. Obsesses over the public 50kW power but doesn't understand the nuances of how different lasers have different spot sizes at different ranges and conditions. Just the sort of video\article NickC would like. Technically illiterate and...
by NickC
14 Feb 2024, 13:24
Forum: Joint Service
Topic: Directed Energy Weapons
Replies: 40
Views: 2388
United Kingdom

Re: Directed Energy Weapons

by NickC
14 Feb 2024, 12:24
Forum: Conflicts
Topic: The war in Ukraine
Replies: 1156
Views: 84779
United Kingdom

Re: The war in Ukraine

Just amazing how different reporters interpret the story

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/02/13/euro ... index.html
by NickC
14 Feb 2024, 10:12
Forum: Conflicts
Topic: The war in Ukraine
Replies: 1156
Views: 84779
United Kingdom

Re: The war in Ukraine

what is noticeable is that none of Kyiv's AA defences including its two Patriot batteries and presumably the SAMP/T battery delivered last June with its Aster 30 Blk 1 missiles was able shoot down the hypersonic Zircon. Is it noticeable? Have no other weapons penetrated Kyivs AA defences since ther...
by NickC
13 Feb 2024, 12:28
Forum: Conflicts
Topic: The war in Ukraine
Replies: 1156
Views: 84779
United Kingdom

Re: The war in Ukraine

Reuters reporting that Russia fired the first of their new Navy Zircon hypersonic sram missiles at Kyiv, (unknown if fired from land or sea). Hit apartment block and killed at least 5, what is noticeable is that none of Kyiv's AA defences including its two Patriot batteries and presumably the SAMP/T...
by NickC
10 Feb 2024, 11:02
Forum: Royal Navy
Topic: Current & Future Escorts - General Discussion
Replies: 19146
Views: 7053072
United Kingdom

Re: Current & Future Escorts - General Discussion

S-band wave length is 7.5cm to 15 cm. What frequency ARTISAN 3D is using? Artisan is an E/F band radar 2 - 4 GHz, NATO classification, but generally known under the older IEEE nomenclature as S-band, many navies, not all e.g. SMART-L, led by USN changed from L to S-band with the SPY- 1 as the volum...
by NickC
09 Feb 2024, 11:38
Forum: Royal Navy
Topic: Current & Future Escorts - General Discussion
Replies: 19146
Views: 7053072
United Kingdom

Re: Current & Future Escorts - General Discussion

FWIW a poster's comment on Artisan caught my eye on a War Zone article " San Antonio Class Looks Very Different After Shedding Its Stealthy Masts", not very complimentary to Artisan due its high beamwidth at longer ranges. Patrick Chase 9 hours ago This seems a little misleading: Even the...