ew European AEW aircraft the Brits have paid to derisk. There wouldn't be a market for it in Europe right now either. The French have continued to keep their E-3's up to spec, so won't be looking for a replacement until 2035 minimum, the Italians have some Israeli Gulfstreams as part of a deal on M...

xav wrote:MLP long range ATGM

This sounds like a missile that is 10 years too late. It doesn't seem to offer any benefit over Hellfire. Certainly it sounds inferior to JAGM. And from the specs mentioned it 's massively inferior to Brimstone 2.

Lord Jim wrote:I have come around to he fact that the three cell stand alone ExLS id probably the best launch system for the Sea Ceptor for both the T-26 and T-31e.

It would be nice if Brimstone 2 or Spear were actually integrated to EXLS as well.

Another interesting snippet, the future missile is definitely not going to be submarine launch-able. Thats a surprise. I guess the French see no need as they're only just getting MdCN. The UK seems wedded to Tomahawk and replacement. Lets just hope that they've designed it so it could be made sub-s...

Yeh could of been so good for Airbus if they had pushed to replace mpa Nimrod ( & the uk gov played ball !!! ) It wasn't the UK government. It was BAE and Airbus playing nicely. At the time BAE had just divested itself of its 20% holding in Airbus (something the government should never have all...

efitting old planes to the SF std ( if we sell all the short bodied one) sounds stupid' but then again, the A-400M is bigger still, so might not suit all occasions in such a use It's the whole fleet size now that worries me (and the suitability of the long fuselaged variant for AAR). Perhaps we're ...

- Boeing having outplayed their remedies, and can do nothing further now. But may have hurt their military business in more than one country, going forward. With Wedgetail and Poseidon they have working, selling product. Airbus do not. Where Airbus have a product (A330 MRTT) they're cleaning up. If...

Can't remember seeing this here... https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/raf-c-130j-written-off-after-crashing-in-iraq/ https://web.archive.org/web/20180708125429/https:/twitter.com/obretix/status/1015767349163675649 Apparently, it was a long fuselage one (the variant we're keeping). As far as I can tell,...

Dahedd wrote:Surely all bluff & bluster (aimed at folk who don't know better) on the part of Airbus given that they don't have an AEW system of their own to offer in competition?

Plus they seem to be pissed off after going in to bat for May at Chequers. Seems like they assumed there was some quid pro quo...

f they quickly did a rfi for "military off the shelf" jet awacs, airbus would probably moan about that too. Seems very much like Boeing with the 737 vs Cseries punch-up, they don't have a direct competitor and are trying to bully their way to a sale. Doesn't even have to be in service, ju...

Lord Jim wrote:ould they consider operating their P-8As as part of a joint Maritime Patrol force together with the RAAF P-8As and UAVs?

Realistically they have to. Otherwise how on earth are they going to get any experience training with actual submarines...the RNZN aren't going to be much help with that.

Seeing the Canadian problems it is good to see we are not alone in having a screwed up procurement process. Government support for industry is on the whole a good thing as long as the money to do so comes form the right budget and Defence is not the one that should be used. Agreed. As long as the p...

Would be a nice thing to have them ( especially Wedgetail ) equipped for AAR, if possible probe and drogue... There's always the possibility that if its only boom equipped that with P-8, C-17, RC-135 and E-7A all boom only that the RAF might finally get a boom on Voyager...in terms of capability bo...

Hadn't known we ever did, actually! Learn something new every day. Cheeky place to put them. Literally can't exit the Med without coming within range of rock cave fortified AShMs. Unbelievably low priority these days, but an amusing "British supervillain lair defence" thought all the same...

being fitted, but the Tiffies to Kuwait will have AShMs... they are of Italian make, though. Marte-ER IIRC. Not sure if any of the users would spring for JSM integration, but the Saudi's will usually buy anything and I would have thought that the Germans could make use of it following Kormorant's w...

It's already being fitted to Typhoon, no need to pay more. I know that had been mooted, and some airshow stand had it on, but has it actually happened? It's already been selected for the USN's new AShM, thus benefiting from shared development and scale of production, reduces cost. Absolutely, just ...

They postponed OSD for Harpoon 1C from 2018 to 2020 - what would be the point if it's not going to be replaced in 2020? Also, the P-8 Poseidon is coming into service and should be able to operate the Harpoon II +ER from about 2020. The obvious solution would be to buy the Harpoon II +ER for both th...

AIM-120Ds? That's a nice surprise. Big upgrade for the UKs AMRAAM use right there. The D model is a gigantic upgrade over the C. The announcement is in the below story here: http://alert5.com/2018/07/11/u-k-cleared-to-buy-200-aim-120ds/ Seems like a sensible purchase. It addresses the gap until Met...

https://uk.reuters.com/article/britain- ... KL8N1U86BN

Reuters aren't renowned for jumping the gun on these types of things either...looks like its close...4-6 Wedgetails is a pretty big improvement on what we've got now.

http://www.janes.com/article/81545/risks-rise-in-uk-defence-procurement-programmes Worth noting that a 'RED' rating doesn't always mean 'unachievable' as Janes states...there is a fair bit of nuance with the IPA. Without seeing a Gateway or PAR report you'll be unlikely to find out the full reasons,...

ArmChairCivvy wrote:Did anyone note the dual-use mission bay: two Romeos (if needed)
- isn't that a bigger helo than our Wildcat?

Yes its a fair bit bigger. But the UK's T26 will also be able to fit a Merlin in the mission bay as well if required.

Went into the dockyard today to watch the winding of QE from Bows South to her usual Bows North. It started at 12:40. Great pics as ever. I can't stop feeling a little disappointed when I see a pic of QE docked that the the original basing arrangements have never gone ahead. Its still a fantastic a...

It will be. But the progress now is really coming along. I didn't know much about the US facility though....following the work with the Air Force Lab in the states they're clearly targeting more US investment. Man sized budgets over there. Hopefully when they run the engine and it works, its going t...

sunstersun wrote:SERVICED IN ERDOGAN'S ISLAMIC TURKEY."

UK engine servicing will be in Norway apparently.

Is the T26 too much ship for the Kiwi's requirements, or would they be more interested in a (suitably equipped) T31? Definitely too much ship for the RNZN. But T31 could fit the bill, particularly if they could ship the 5" guns, Sea Ceptor and other kit over. But crucially the price would inte...