UK Defence Forum

I would say if you fitted a 20 x 20 meter hangar on the Albion class you could still fit 3 Merlin's in it and operate 2 Merlin's off 2 spots and just maybe if they landed side on instead of inline 2 Chinooks Having been on them at fitting out stage at Barrow. There would have a lot of work to the s...

By the way, what is the actual top speed of the Archer class after re-engine? Many “top speeds” are quoted elsewhere, which range from 14 knots to 25 knots. (in this thread, it is 25 knots?). I timed to radar fixes on one at 24 knots. it must have had a engine change as in 1989 the one based on the...

Strange that the Gibraltar Squadrons Ex R.A.F. rescue target towing launches were replaced by a archer patrol boats. The operational requirement for transit to the eastern end of the runway. was relaxed to enable them to be replaced . When the Northern Ireland foxes became surplus. The navy used the...

Sack off the lot of it and stand up a coastguard in its place. The Navy have got more important things to focus on. In the 1980s serious consideration was given to forming a dedicated coast guard service. covering the then Royal Air Force vessels the Customs cutters. The R.N bird class . The S.A.R....

Did they not add mcm gear to North Sea trawlers for use in the Falklands ? There was a sweep trial with a anchor handling vessel (small rig tender) . It had mixed results. The R.N.R were to man them when they lost there own sweepers. But this was not pushed forward. A more modern mine hunting requi...

I would take some guidance from how long the corvettes for Brunei and T&T OPVs sat in the water, before they could be shifted I doubt the 31s when laid up will be wet stored in Ramsdon dock in Barrow in Furness. Then the Upholders spent a long time in there. It depends on the procurement needs....

It’s daft to keep both the 30mm and 40mm in service together for the longer term, it’ll mean we’ll have 25mm ( phalanxe ) 30mm, 40mm, 57mm, 4.5inch, 5inch all in service for the long term and not just transition. The 40mm 30 mm over lap but thinking beyond the short term. When the type 45 get repla...

The new 40mm and DS30 are from different centuries... and are oceans apart in all-round capability I watched the problems caused with the 76mm. The treasury shenanigan's. Suggesting it as a cost saving fitting it to then redesigned Type 23 frigates as replacement for the venerable 4.5 gun. The use ...

I'm probably going back to far but the original procurement plan for F35s was going to make the first deployment light on f35. It was planned for deployment of single squadron of F35s. They would be supplemented by a harrier squadron. The disastrous treasury driven S.S.D.R scuppered the original pla...

Caribbean wrote:In one of the images, it looks like they may be using it off the aft deck of a BF cutter

The picture was taken on a Falmouth based Air support craft on which the first set of sea trials were conducted.

wonder why if the 150m/8,000t T26 beam at 20.8m is 9.3m wider than the 75m/1,400t Leeds Castle which could land a Chinook The castle class had nearly vertical side plating from transom to round bilge knuckle on the hull. Given the hull profiles with the modern practice of radar reduction hull forms...

Was lucky enough to be taken up in the two seater. Had side by side seating unlike modern aircraft .The acceleration was something else. Its a shame that the civil aviation authority deemed it to complex for preserved flight.

Ron5 wrote:PoW needs CIWS to visit Liverpool?Tough city.

That comment is completely at odds with comments in Liverpool . It may be Her Majesty's Ship. But' she is ours '. And you know how Liverpudlians come together to protect there own. CIWS protecting her is nothing compared to city of pissed off Scousers .

seem to remember talk? of doing ski-jump testing with the E-2 hawkeye..or did I imagine that.... Test were done for the Indian navy in the 1980s when they purchased Hermes because the arrester gear room was structurally intact, The Indian Navy were looking into operating Hawkeye. There was some red...

I don't think there is any option that can watch over the North Atlantic besides a Maritime Patrol Aircraft, of which P8 is the best option available. I once had a conversation with a ex soviet submariner who was fellow crew. Being Estonian he was working on a U K ferry as a deck officer. Myself be...

allows for two frigates to be constructed side by side beforebeing railed and launched into the adjacent Main Basin to the south . When the Synchro lift was built it had two external rail lines for vessels to large to fit into the covered hall . Served by the traversing frame in front of the shed. ...

that they’re kicking about somewhere. The WE 117s are stored stripped in Sellafield .The problem is that when Blair / Brown came to power they needed replacing or refurbishing to be effective. With a expensive cost . The then government had better priority's so offered enhanced sub munitions and co...

C. Primary build facility: new facilities at the BAE Systems-operated dockyard in Barrow-in-Furness (Cumbria), costing £240 million to upgrade aging facilities and support improved submarine construction techniques, 116% over budget. Part of the overspend in barrow was due to legacy shipbuilding on...

EAP was built to test technology that was primarily new in particular its fly by wire system for statically unstable aircraft. If they follow the EAP path we may see modified Typhoon test bed. There was a modified Jaguar (a.c.t.d.) that was modified to be unstable in flight. This proved the concept...

Isn't the Team tempest project in the same vain as the EAP was to typhoon? I did range safety for EAP the aircraft had better capability's that were traded away in production Typhoon. Hopefully we will not repeat that with Tempest. The air to ground tests done on EAP were not transferred to the pro...

It’s not uncommon to have US only “black boxes” on aircraft we have them on a number of other aircraft. The joys of working with Uncle Sam. I assume not all the crew are US ITAR cleared. If anything its the clearance for restricted U S equipment. I have seen how secretive the American's have been o...

- don't ask me . Just read the accounting policies and DEFCONS... when I first tried to get my head around Mr Browns new accounting polices my headaches crippled me. I came to the conclusion was the M.O.D. paid from the procurement budget while the operational budget paid back the deprecation money...

Timmymagic wrote:All the evidence suggests that Outfit DEC never made it down to the Falklands in time, and was never used there. It may have gone South on a couple of ships relieving the task force at the end of the war

So some one removed them of Battleaxe type 22 as she was testing them before she sailed south.

eah, I remember the Argentinian pilots claiming to feel sick when they were close to our ships, so it could be something like that. But if we had tech more than 30 years ago, then surely there must be something better now? Know as laser dazzlers. Kept under wraps until HMS Andromeda entered port wi...

I would guess range finding/tracking lasers. Not the shoot `em down type. I m inclined to suggest that the navy retained the none lethal distraction lasers that we developed in the 1980s. Successfully kept quite until someone forgot to cover a frigate set up on entry to port. They effectively disor...