It does seem a bit odd how much effort (including the above) was put into developing/pioneering SRVL, yet the expectation seems to be that vertical landing will be the standard. Don't forget the old adage that 'It's better to stop and land, than land and stop'... Ultimately SRVL introduces an addit...

Jensy wrote:Likewise I've got no idea what happens when a catapult meets a ramp, also not sure what would happen to a 'bolter' if it meets a ramp either? All the STOBAR carriers have angled decks.

This has always been a concern for me with the SRVL, there's no barrier to be used in the event of an emergency.

Jensy wrote:Makes me wonder if someone's done some ballpark figures on what it would take to develop a STOVL 'loyal wingman' versus a more conventional design.

Ahem...

The Lockheed Martin VARIOUS from 15 years ago...

And for a bit of balance...article by Justin Bronk for RUSI. I do share his concerns around the 'Combat Cloud'. I've seen too many iterations of 'network centric' warfare not come to pass despite lovely graphical displays from manufacturers about how everything will talk to everything seamlessly for...

The rumblings around FCAS/SCAF continue...it's a view from a think tank, nothing more, but it does tally with other views expressed recently which doesn't indicate a happy programme at present. Of course its possible that this is just the inevitable grumblings over work share, national champions etc...

Throwing away the UK's complex weapons program that has shown to be extremely productive, by buying US weapons seems a bit daft but quite in line with usual UK defense decisions i.e. short term gain for long term loss aka shiny penny syndrome. I know what you're saying but the Complex Weapons progr...

SKB wrote:And a move to Yeovilton?

Given the investment in Marham it would make more sense for Marham to become a RNAS.

RichardIC wrote:Do you know what Border Force does? It doesn't require firepower.

Yes I know. But high speed, seaworthy vessels with good sensor fits for a great price are hard to come by. Take off the RWS by all means, but the other capabilities of the boats are worth the price of admission alone.

ArmChairCivvy wrote:"several partner nations have expressed interest in potentially purchasing a number of the craft via the foreign military sales process for their own use".

I'm sure that when we explain that they will also escort visiting USN SSN's we might get near the top of the queue..

Big fan of these...lets get a couple for Gibraltar and a couple for Faslane. Hell lets get all the rest for the Border Force...speed, range, firepower, adaptability...what more could you want. Mind you the fact that the USN is looking to get rid so young is interesting/worrying...but it does happen ...

Some more detail...looks like the German's under Airbus pressure are wanting to build an FCAS demonstrator using Typhoon, whilst the French build a Rafale based one. Can perfectly understand why as it appears that the penny has dropped with Airbus that if they don't they may well lose the ability to...

Thanks. I was reacting to a comment from SW1 that implied the US Marines would be uninterested in drop tanks because of their reliance on vertical landings. I didn't see the logic. But then again, I've not seen any interest from the Marines in drop tanks period. Which probably mean their poor relat...

Scimitar54 wrote:Who said anything about size? (therefore weight).

Lockheed Martin...

Weren't you the one telling us a few weeks ago that rolling landings would never be needed as the B could vertically land at max weapon load? Or was that somebody else? That was me an age ago, I actually said SRVL's were unlikely to be used very often at present or the near future as the circumstan...

How about an unmanned light COD platform for the QE's....we know it will land and takeoff as it did so from the far smaller Hermes back in the day...

There are a few choices but would also the Hobart class destroyer also be suitable for these new missiles from its V.L.S The Hunter Class will as well. But Tomahawk is getting long in the tooth with the US looking to shut production down. Buying it now or in a few years might not be the smartest mo...

https://youtu.be/THnhnVzlx_Q Genuinely had no idea that the Mini-Gun had been in service that long ago. Thought it only started to arrive in small numbers in the 90's, not that far back. The Gazelle's inability to be armed in UK service was in contrast to the well thought out weapons fit for the Sc...

Having the Americans on board the carrier and escorting it serves two purposes, filling the gaps until 2023-24 and more importantly it will put a restraint on China's belligerent behaviour when we enter the South China Sea. If this was just a purely British effort, the level of intimidation and thr...

Japan has already developed a new air launched supersonic AShM, and they always seem to be more interested in this role than land attack, with their Self Defence moniker. For the UK the main issue will probably be whether the FCASW is integrated on the F-35B. If the weapon lives up to its billing t...

Sad but not entirely unpredictable news....Yeovil really does need to win some work soon...German Navy has already gone for NH-90 (which was always predictable). They might get a couple more orders from the Phillipines but you have to wonder where any further Wildcat orders will come from....particu...

Neither are interested in JSM on F-35B's. I don't know any nation that is That's true. But the main integration cost is the weapons system integration. With UAI once this is done for F-35A it is immediately available for B and C users. A flight test campaign for carriage and release of a wing mount...

Hopefully they'll get some traction on this. They've been developing the linear rocket motors for about 10 years now. Looks like the work has moved forward with floor systems. Plus some work on aerial systems as well. It's a great idea, has been given development money by UK government and US govern...

Just to clarify my understanding the JSM is too long to fit into the shorter F-35B weapons bay and will require external carriage degrading its stealth capabilities plus to be effective assume it will need Block 4 a/c with the upgraded AN/APG-81 radar capable of wide area surface search by 'big SAR...

As an aside, I haven't seen any mention of LRASM being incorporated with a box launcher for a while. Anyone know if that is still the plan now that up-arming the LCS is out of favour? There is a version of the Mk41 that is deck mounted at around 45 degrees from the vertical, in the developmental st...

Is there any suggestion of the types of missiles carried by U.A.V.s accompanying aircraft ? Not at present. Most of the proposed Loyal Wingmen haven't shown their cards on armament. The Australian Boeing one for example appears to be unarmed with the focus on ISTAR. The Kratos Valkyrie has the abil...