Does anybody know if any consideration has been given to using sonar bouys instead ? Lightweight, cheap, and we will soon have them in service again on the P8 ,I'm sure Ultra would be more than happy to come up with a Heli born rig ? I took the quote from the T45 post. But I'm interested in others ...

"cued by ship's sensors", in an indirect fashion of course, owing to the missing data link. The Wildcat drops a torpedo somewhere in the rough area, and whilst it probably has very little chance of hitting, it's probably good enough to scare the sub off for a day. Why do you need a datali...

people will tend to compare Omega-class and FTI to T31e, even though T31e is clearly "one-rank or even two-ranks lower" assets compared to the former two. Might be clear to you but not everyone else. Certainly not me. In my opinion you are putting too much weight into ships cost as a way ...

Yet another rival of T31e to come? https://mobile.twitter.com/xaviervav/status/1059765455336820736 The second ship in the picture looks like somone's idea of a Type 31. DrULDRrVYAAZJhd.jpg large.jpg Interesting indeed ! Pure co-incidence or does the hull number give us a clue - 331 ? Looks like Art...

Foward bases in Germany and the the Baltics The latest proposal is to keep 60 folks looking after the big A/C garage, and also keep the exercise area available. Or that is what I picked up, MDP might come out with something different. Actually it's 187 uniformed, 80 civil servants ( mainly DIO rang...

Looking again at Leander when compared with T22/23 I was surprised to see that with a beam of 14.3 m she is almost as wide as a T22 - all batches - which had a beam of 14.8 m. Of course the 'new' Leander is 10 metres shorter than the Batch 1 T22 and 20 metres than the Batch 2 and 3, however in beam ...

Tempest414 wrote:So was there anything from Babcock at Euronaval 18 in regards to type 31 as I have not seen anything

It would appear sadly no, so do we think that Babcock's no show at Euronaval finally signals the end of Team 31 and that BAE/CL Leander are now the only game in town?

Well following the discussion on MODNET Im absolutely certain that there is no chance in hell of the T31 being cancelled in favour of one or two more T26, or even of it being replaced with T26 light. Sadly there is just too much politically at stake as regards this programme, and too much face was l...

Personally I think this debate , although very interesting is slightly missing the crucial point. Why are we comparing France's last generation Tier2 Frigate (La Fayette) and its Surveillance/Patrol Frigate (Floreal) to the UK's last generation Tier1 Frigate? Is it not more important to focus on th...

Might be already posted. In this USS Essex F35B operation movie, F35Bs are using the full length of the deck, 257m long, and still after the lift-off, it looks "heavy". See from 2:40- onward. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDd0b6sl-b4 I think the bombs are carried, and fuel are full. I'm...

Are those Wessex I see down there too? I thought so, too. The idea is to create 'congestion' and get the not-so-small F-35s from A to B plenty quick, and without any scrathes... so does it matter much "who" plays the "Garden Gnomes" as the obstructions in the confined space (the...

From the latest edition British Army Review; "The Foxhound provides unprecedented levels of blast protection for its size and weight. It is an agile and versatile vehicle that will be a mainstay of the Army for years to come. Foxhound can protect against IED's due to its v-shaped hull" ARM...

Surely we must be more ambitious than a last generation design like Leander. Which design are we putting it into? Once a decision is made, we'll be in a position to answer that. I personally, hope that the Arrowhead 140 re-appears in some guise or other, but I won't hold my breath As indeed do I. B...

You can find shots when QNLZ was in drydock in Scotland, with Illustrious sat in the adjacent dock, that does a good job of it for me! https://pbs.twimg.com/media/COJixXmWcAAYkVU.jpg Looking at that shot and remembering that at one time they were talking 300odd metres long, would it have fit in tha...

There were 6 Points to start with 2 of which have been released from the contract so if the the MOD wish they could ask Foreland shipping to add another. The point are not a MOD design there are a number of this class of ship out there Also could the LCACs be operated from the Point class using mem...

I think what would help in terms of the type 31 program as a hole would be for the MOD to say type 31 will be fitted with new BAE CMS plus Artisan radars from type 23s for fleet commonality and logistics Agreed, Artisan plus CAMM, in fact all the weapon systems should be ported across. Looking at t...

It’s as simple as this in affordability terms you have continuous carrier strike or a amphib capability but you can’t have both. While we keep making decisions based on the popular vote we can't have both i.e keeping Bulwark in reserve. However as I said before had we sold Bulwark and refitted the ...

thought this was an excellent video of the F-35B strike on Afghanistan. Nice video Ron first one I have seen with Gun Pods fitted. Yeah good spot. First I have seen with gun pods too - looking good. Like the Stars and Stripes on the VSTOL flap - was rather hoping we would see the White Ensign there...

Seen this on Gabs twiiter account about British weapons on the F-35. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dl1OVsFW0AM61GE.jpg:large First time I think I have seen the F-35 with the 4 live AMRAAMs in its load out. I remember it was part of the 3F software requirements but up till now I'm sure all footage of ...

Remember when this was the poster boy for T31 - now a proper Patrol Frigate that would have been, but could they have done it for 250 GBP you have to ask? I asked the chap on the BMT stand at DSEI the same question back in 2017 and his answer was that they wouldn't be entering if they thought that t...

It's perfectly good for NGS. Far more so than a smaller calibre like 76mm (I'm totally discounting 57mm). Those long ranged precision guided rounds may get fielded, but until they are the 4.5 inch is perfectly acceptable, its better for AA work as well (and that matters with more and more drones) a...

I know the T23's were designed for Merlin, but god thats still a tight fit. Its going to be a whole lot easier on the T26 helideck. That's not tight - wait till you see a Merlin on BAE's Type 31, now bound to win and as rigged from the start . Mega surprise - not ! Leander they call it, masso corru...

Still wish she were 1,000 tons heavier, stretched by 10 metres and plus one deck, and with a Merlin hanger too. Leander 130 or 127 would get my vote. Oh, funny old thing, I've just described a T23!

And whilst you are at it port over the Harpoon mounts from the T23's, also as the image depicts. This at least until we grasp the inevitable and buy NSM. With a Mk8 gun, CAMM, Phalanx and Harpoon, plus 30mm etc and possibly canister launched Brimstone too, we would have a great little 'street fighte...

Yeah and both the Oto 76 and Bofors 57 whilst clearly better at AAW/AASM are crap at NGS. Keep the MK 8 for NGS at which it is excellent and for everything else rely on Phalanx and CAMM.