They've gone awfully quiet on the Pascat. I assume it's it's not going to happen?

What would be the differences between the above Predator & the proposed Mariner variant?
such as this http://www.theuav.com/mariner_uav.html
Or this
http://casr.ca/bg-uav-justas-guardian.htm

Sorry if it's a daft question. Interested civie being nosey.

If the RM are looking for a new ride as well then it surely makes sense that whatever 8x8 is selected for the Army should be amphibious when not up armoured with rpg screens etc. commonality across the services.

Possibly a daft question from an uneducated civie.

If they have reduced the number of vehicles what has happened to the old ones? Would they not be a suitable chassis for an ammo carrier or an air defence vehicle or even conversion to a field ambulance ?

It would be a sensible replacement for the 30 mm cannon they currently have. Commonality across the forces.

I wonder if it would fit out the side of a Herc/Atlas ??

Tbf I was also thinking we could have multiples for UK defence. Up in Shetland, outer Hebrides, RAF Buchanan old site beside Peterhead, coastal n/ireland, Scily Isles etc. Static Aster 45 positions as well. It would never happen & I guess ground based air defences are a sitting duck for cruise m...

Could they move that facility "down south" ?

I'm sure it would be of great use on a certain island in the South Atlantic.

Not as fancy as that tethered drone, but would a high altitude UAV/airship/blimp not be a terrific way of extending the fleets AEW horizon? Imagine a super high altitude Searchwater on 24hrs duty.deployable from all ships types, not just the carriers. The only downside I gUess would be that if your ...

Doesn't the Indian P8i have a probe for refuelling as well as a MAD boom ??

Getting a tad OT now I guess but I also like the concept. Little recon chopper/uav for the RN with the ability to carry additional munitions to support the Wildcat/Merlin while the army get a recon/vip transport. Marinised of course. I wonder how it would work if used to replace the Squirrels as the...

really? I would like to see a small optionally manned helo as a gazelle replacement (optimistic I know), for use by both the army and navy. I was indicating that such a replacement could keep westland ticking over for a while. Weren't they testing out an Augusta Westland SW-4 as an optionally manne...

Maybe/hopefully in the event of the Sentinal going they can be picked up by NATO (pooled like the Sentries & C17s) or another NATO Nation such as France (who found them helpful over Mali) so that way the capabilities are not wasted.

Well if that's the case & it's all decided then the MOD best go talk to Air Tanker & see about getting the Voyagers with no centre line rigged up with a Boom.

It'll be awfully embarrassing to be unable to refuel yet another of our aircraft.

None as far as I know are in touch with the Seedcorn program though one was retiring Ni.rod crew just as the MR4 fiasco was happening (he's of the opinion we should have thrown cash at it until it worked) They just feel the P1 'looks' right. The 4 engines, the mad boom & the fact it's been desig...

marktigger wrote:at the end of the day we need the most capable platform that can be bought off the shelf. Not one our allies think we should have to protect their industry!

Agreed. And as I said the ex Nimrod guys I know prefer the P1.

Living up here next to Kinloss I definitely miss the Nimrod & I know a few ex ground crew, engineers & aircrew. Their opinions are mixed on a replacement, but the P1 seems to win there vote though they tend to acknowledge that the P8 will most likely win due to economies of scale & commo...

The idea of the deployable Mag Eagle Drone based on the Scan Eagle is intriguing. Given the RN operate the Scan Eagle if the UK opted for the P8 over the P1 is this likely to be an asset we would use?

To replace the Landrover might they be as well buying a bulk load of Ford Ranger/VW Amarocks etc. that kinda of 5 seater 4x4 pickup ? Recruiting and outreach teams tend to use and also for predeployment training for op tosca. Personally, I hope not because there's no room for comms kit and personal...

To replace the Landrover might they be as well buying a bulk load of Ford Ranger/VW Amarocks etc. that kinda of 5 seater 4x4 pickup ?

Have they all moved south?

We get them over the house daily here in Forres.

Halidon that's exactly why I wondered if they might end up back at Kinloss. All the infrastructure is still in place & the Royal Engineers are only using a fraction of the base.

If they choose Lossie then the remaining Tornados will have to move down south.

No it probably won't be Kinloss but I can hope. Given its northern location (hello Vlad) & recent use of Lossie for asw exercises it still seems the obvious choice.

I expect politics to play a major role in basing.

I'm hoping any MPA will be based back up here at Kinloss. The airfield is still intact, hangers & ATC are still there & the Army are only taking up a small part of the base.

"Thinking out loud" here. Why not merge the Border Force, Customs, Fishery Protection & Coast Guard into one. utilise the Cutters, RN River Class & some support ships/tugs. Search & Rescue choppers & a fixed wing MPA such as a Casa or reroled ex RAF Hercules ? Too radical ?...

Exciting aircraft. Could be perfect for SEAD or as a air defence missile carrier along side Typhoons.

Wonder if they couldn't upscale it. Give the RAF a regional bomber. No crew, lots of fuel, lots of range.