Yes LordJim there is a considerable export potential if we ensure that Brimstone 2 is integrated on both the Protector and our new Apache helicopters as it is a much superior and longer ranged precision weapon than the US' Hellfire.

A bit more news here, see https://www.flightglobal.com/news/artic ... uk-431587/ The firm order of sixteen rather than the twenty announced in the SDSR 2015 may well reflect the 20% slump in the value of the Pound since the EU Referendum. The option for ten more probably depends on the successful de...

The US State Department has given approval for the sale of up to 26 Protector UCAV see https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/us-approves-sale-of-up-to-26-protector-uavs-to-uk-431587/ The firm order of sixteen rather than the twenty announced in the SDSR 2015 may well reflect the 20% slump in th...

So yes, thats why they would need them. Because literally every other big navy in the world cannot all be wrong. And yet the Russian submarine launched Club-S anti-shipping missile has a range of 220 kilometres and Type 53-65 torpedo has a range of 22 kilometres. In contrast Sting Ray launched from...

The problem with the replacement of Harpoon 1C missiles reflects the politics of the situation rather than the lack of money and I think is far too typical of why things just don't get done. The Navy wants LRASM - I remember reading that in a speech delivered by the previous First Sea Lord about 18 ...

Harpoon? I think we just received from the Navy some deliberated Harpoon news... lets go and buy something else? The problem with the replacement of Harpoon 1C missiles reflects the politics of the situation rather than the lack of money and I think is far too typical of why things just don't get d...

With defence spending cut to the bone to pay for the four Dreadnought class subs, military pensions, and intelligence it is hardly likely we will ever see an improvement in the current situation. The fact that we shall have a Navy with no ASW missiles is rather frightening to say the least. They wi...

Ideally, I would see both Type 26 and Type 31 ensured to be equipped with Stingray Torpedoes Surely an enemy submarine would have used its anti-shipping missiles or long-range torpedoes long before it got in range of a Stingray launched from a frigate? I would have thought a Merlin or Wildcat armed...

ArmChairCivvy wrote:Nothing much heard of the light-attack Wildcat order, so not sure if they can be replaced (if they do not exist)

847 NAS is the Royal Marines Wildcat Squadron.

Both Denmark and Australia have bought kits to upgrade their Harpoon 1's to Harpoon II capability and didn't have to buy any new launchers.

If you read the actual words stated by the MoD spokesperson they said: 1. Harpoon 1 is to go out of service at the end of 2018 (no new news there) and 2. there is no contractually agreed replacement (again no new news). What I'd suggest is going on is that Poseidon will enter service in 2019 with ei...

SDSR15 was a mixed bag for the Royal Navy. On the one hand, the Trident Successor Programme was confirmed, two Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers are entering service, two additional Offshore Patrol Vessels were ordered and the programme to build three new Future Fleet Solid Support (FFSS) ship...

Indian P-8I is equipped with Harpoon II according to this and other reports

http://thediplomat.com/2016/07/india-cl ... er-planes/

SPEAR 3 seems to be on a steady development course now that it's seen off the SDB II. You're right that a single SPEAR 3 won't sink anything very large but eight of them on one F-35B or 96 launched by a Squadron can overwhelm anti-missile defences then cripple ship based radar and launchers leaving ...

I guess it remains a judgement call. If an upgrade to the Raven is possible without the costly fixes that are needed for Captor-E and if we're sure the tranche 1 aircraft are going to be around long enough then it might be worth it. On the other hand if they're only going to be around to 2030 and if...

We know the Captor-E won't work in th Tranche 1's, so I do wonder if the Raven ES-01 (A smaller, similar one for the Gripen with 1,200 t/r modules as opposed to 1,500 and the same field of traversable view) would though. Selex executive quoted in interview "during Flight Evaluation Trials seve...

Yes, some of the ideas first appeared in articles I wrote for Think Defence prior to the SDSR. In those I argued for the retention of the tranche 1 Typhoons and the need for an MPA - both of which have now happened. I also argued for the tranche 1's to get a basic AESA radar but having read more on ...

The clear winner from SDSR15 was the Royal Air Force with the announcement of two additional Typhoon Squadrons, an order for nine Boeing P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, at least sixteen new long-range Protector UCAVs, two new Shadow R2 aircraft and the retention of a Hercules C4 Squadron. By ...

At last there's some movement on the Challenger Life Extension Programme with two groups shortlisted for the assessment phase - one lead by BAE and one by Rheinmetall. See http://www.defensenews.com/articles/field-narrows-for-uk-battle-tank-modernization for more. Most intriguing are the comments fr...