Does anyone happen to know why we dropped out of the NH90? The TTH (and more so the new MTT) would have been an obvious Puma replacement... And maybe if we was in, we could have fixed some of the issues early (like how stupidly low it sits)? P. S. I can guess why we didn't want the NFH... :D It was...

SW1 wrote:Uk government can support British industry purchasing a number of the options discussed. Airbus helicopters have facilities in oxford and Aberdeen ..

By the same flimsy argument the UK should buy Lockheed or Boeing. And get a superior product too.

SW1 wrote:Britain's Joint Helicopter Command wants to extend the out-of-service date of its Puma helicopter fleet to harmonize with the expected withdrawal of the Merlin, according to Maj. Gen. Richard Felton, the force's commander.

He was talking about the RAF Merlins which no longer need replacing.

SW1 wrote:whatever replaces puma replaces merlin

Exhibit #657: why the royal navy own their helicopters and why they should own their fast jets too.

"But Admiral, I thought Russia was our enemy?"

"No son, the RAF is our enemy, Russia is the opposition"

Sigh, here we go again: do we want cheap or do we want a domestic production capability? Can't have both.

Timmymagic wrote:

Ron5 wrote: Cancel MRV(P) stage 2 as that's almost certainly going to be 100% offshore build.

The answer to MRV(P) could be Supacat...you just hope someone in the MoD is listening..

Or more Boxers

Stripped down of course.

Is the army not looking for a Javelin replacement? thought I saw a line for that in the budget. If so, Spike has to be the hot fave. I'd have thought the MMP would be the clear pole sitter. It's made by MBDA, and they'll set up a UK line for it (like they did with Milan). Well that would be more in...

On a different note, I wonder if it would be a good idea in the aftermath of kung flu, for the MoD to prioritize spending in the UK and to re-negotiate deals to increase UK supplied content? i.e. fund UK jobs. So CR3, Boxer & Ajax over JLTV & Apache. Maybe force increase in Boxer UK content....

Is the army not looking for a Javelin replacement? thought I saw a line for that in the budget. If so, Spike has to be the hot fave.

Yes H145m comes from a civi background but what the AAC needs is a armed scout that can lift 8 to 10 troops when needed so why don't you give me some other types that might fit the task that are new to the market or in the pipe line and due in service in the next 5 years Is that 5 year threshold re...

To be more precise: a 50 year old civilian helicopter painted green that some folks here would like to see in front line combat duty.

A flying snatch landrover?

Basically a 50 year old design, that's the ticket.

The world and the bad guys don't stand still just because you might choose to. Easy to say when your armed forces have 748 billion a year to play with and until the new US program is in production it is only a wet dream for the likes of the UK forces Christ even V-22 is a wet dream right now for th...

Or actually go with new technology instead of just more of the same decades old designs. If you wanted to wait for newer technology the racer maybe of interest Gents I am all for an eye on the future however at this time money is the big problem that we face. For me something like H-145M would fit ...

I'm curious about the 6 mounting points instead of 4. Hopefully that doesn't mean the 4 point modules won't fit the 6 point UK chassis.

Somehow I don't think it will be one of these ..

Tempest414 wrote:Maybe the Army should get rid of its Wildcats & Gazelles and replace them with 50 UH-72's would make a nice round number

Or actually go with new technology instead of just more of the same decades old designs.

https://twitter.com/NavyLookout/status/1242847914818506756 I'm guessing the German Mission Bay Handling System was part of Rolls Royce Commercial Marine, sold to Kongsberg in Apr 2019 for ~£350 million to help RR fund rectification of tech problems on their Trent engines, BBC reported RR incurred £...

They could probably be built at Cammell Lairds in Merseyside quite easily, the problem is money - the funding gap in the equipment plan plus C19 impact. I think I read CL would need a modest investment to accommodate the longer length of the FSS. The only issue might be their less than stellar reco...

abc123 wrote:next 15 T26

Good thinking.

They could probably be built at Cammell Lairds in Merseyside quite easily, the problem is money - the funding gap in the equipment plan plus C19 impact. I think I read CL would need a modest investment to accommodate the longer length of the FSS. The only issue might be their less than stellar reco...

Any ex-Marine Ospreys will be knackered and would need mucho dineros to get fit for RAF/RN service.

But a nice idea in theory for the QE's for long range insertion/SAR.

A German split buy sounds a silly idea. Bet it don't happen.

Looks like the Japanese are going on their own... Not all bad news though, they may be looking to co-operate on lots of the systems inside, which is pretty much what Tempest is about. https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-defence-fighter-exclusive/exclusive-japan-favours-home-grown-design-for-nex...