totally agree the lease with option to buy is probably the best approach with it being a complete off the shelf procurement with minimal UK mods. is P8 going to have probe and drogue Inflight refueling capability I know thats the USN prefered method For now it has only got the receptacle for boom r...

Isn't that same missile used on frigates. for ASuw? Too sensible, those Italians It is used shipboard in its earlier incarnation, the Marte MK2, for the embarked helicopters. The MARTE is the MBDA Italy answer to Sea Skua and Sea Venom. The MARTE ER is the latest development, which is to be capable...

The Italian Air Force's Reparto Sperimentale Volo (the italian equivalent to 41 Sqn, more or less) is clearing the RECCELITE reconnaissance pod for use on the Typhoon. It is a reconnaissance system derivative of the Litening targeting pod, and will be the first reconnaissance pod to be used on Typh...

The Italian Air Force's Reparto Sperimentale Volo (the italian equivalent to 41 Sqn, more or less) is clearing the RECCELITE reconnaissance pod for use on the Typhoon. It is a reconnaissance system derivative of the Litening targeting pod, and will be the first reconnaissance pod to be used on Typho...

Something originally meant for Nimrod MRA4 has been mandated for installation on Merlin HM2, with all the helicopters due to be fitted between March and October 2016, a written answers in the Lords shows. http://qnadailyreport.blob.core.windows.net/qnadailyreportxml/Written-Questions-Answers-Stateme...

Not sure what else HMS Ocean can operate when it has 3 MV22 Osprey on board? I assume they can't fit below? I'm 99% sure that a folded MV-22 Osprey will not fit Ocean's lifts because it is a bit too long for them, unfortunately. Width wouldn't be an issue, but lenght i'm afraid it is. However, fold...

Does anybody know if HMS Argyll was ever fitted with the PRISM and other Merlin Flight modifications...? Over time, all other Type 23s have received them, but last i knew, Argyll was, for some reason, left out. Indeed, i don't remember ever seeing / hearing of Merlin ops on Argyll.

Downsizer was being sarcastic, and implying that Wathckeeper is wasted money, i think.

Unlike the FREMMS with their wimpy gas turbine (just kidding), the T26 with its MT30 is plenty fast enough without the diesels and saves a bunch of money in the process. Adding the considerable extra expense/weight of the setup you suggest for a knot or two of top speed is a bad bargain. Meanwhile,...

No more chatter about the mythology of rail guns but one comment on the T26 power: there's a body of work on hybrid power systems (a lot available in the public domain) and there's general agreement that there's a lower limit in ship size where its just not worth the extra expense of a full electri...

Don't be so silly. They're taking a lab experiment to sea next year. There's no funded program to develop a rail gun weapon. No guided shells have been fired. No actual military hardware has been designed and built yet. It's research. They haven't fired a guided projectile yet. They will do so, aga...

Respectfully disagree. No guided round yet and power supplies are certainly not fully contained with the containers. I think you are mixing desire with achievement. Slides with actual hardware. By the way, you repeatedly claim guided shells are cheaper than missiles. A little misleading, apart from...

P-8, just like Nimrod, could still drop inflatable rafts as a first long-range SAR capability, even without the ramp. There are kits that can be dropped from the weapons bay, so i wouldn't call that relevant. Rafts can be dropped by C-130s and eventually will be a capability of A400M too, being a lo...

With the RN scrabbling to buy enough F-35's to fill its flat tops, seems unlikely there will be money or interest in buying millions worth of rail guns that can only throw unguided missiles in the general direction of the bad guys for maybe a few tens of kilometers. By the way, the two containers o...

Albion in refit has goalkeeper been removed for phalanx or maintenance http://i1105.photobucket.com/albums/h358/buglerbilly/Babcock_HMS_Albion_Refit_Upgrade_zpsgexihuoa.jpg Albion's Goalkeepers were dismantled a long while ago, actually, judging from earlier photos at the time of the opening of the...

The smaller Airbus C295 is a 2nd tier solution You assert that the C295 is a second tier solution, and yet I'm not sure where the evidence is. Is there evidence that it's sensor suite is inferior to the P8, or is in someway not up to the job? What about the US version of the P8 not having a MAD, or...

From SKB The UK has ordered 34 Wildcats for the British Army and 28 for the Royal Navy. This was subsequently changed to 30 for the British Army and 4 diverted to Special Forces + an additional 4 ordered for Special Forces. And then apparently reverted to 34 and 28. The announced Light Assault Heli...

And just for curiosity is there any information as to the types of ships that could fit a railgun, how much power generation required extra to the normal ships use and how much space required there might be some feasibility study somewhere . Each firing requires 30Mjoules of energy. Firing at 10 ro...

What do people think about the choice of the US Mk45 62 calibre Mod4 5" gun as the selected choice replacing (finally) the long serving Mk8 Mod1 55 calibre 4.45in which has been in service since 1973. This means it will be nearly 50 years before the RN finally gets its hands on a 5" main ...

Read that the UK based Gurkha battalion had rejoined 16AA Brigade increasing it's infantry orbat to 3 battallions... Does this mean a reestablishing of the ability to deploy a full brigade rather than battlegroup size is in the offing in the near future? http://forces.tv/42840759 It is extremely un...

The reason for not carrying a full warload was not because there were not enough weapons but the TSC (Torpedo Storage Compartment) was used as an accommodation space. This changed when Harpoon came as that made the TSC a magazine under RN regs. So we started hot bunking. :cry: On Astute it shouldn'...

not the same radar, but the sharp eye is becoming the go to radar for our small ships and auxiliarys. The feeling is that, unless there are more delays, SharpEye will finally become the official replacement of the Type 1007 radars next year, for the whole fleet. I would expect SharpEye to feature o...

Never before has there been such fanfare over a 6th in class patrol vessel. Shows how desperate he is to pretend he's doing the right things for the navy. Perhaps if they had got their asses in gear they could be saying all those things about a T26 and would have been some what more justified. It's...

Can the boats be fully loaded with Tomahawks eg 10 torps +28 Tomahawk?

I believe that any combination of Spearfish and Tomahawk can fit into the Astute's weapons handling system. Possibly on the Trafalgars too.

One other thing to consider is that the armed services and the DoD testing authority are no friends. While what Gilmore says can't be ignored entirely, the services tipically see things a little differently- I have no doubt the US Navy is working to improve certain aspects of the P-8, but whatever p...