Go on Jensey, I'll bite, was it the UK being unreasonably reluctant to accept French leadership in UAV design, engines avionics and build with a HQ in Paris?? I'm not sure what there is to "bite"? We weren't excluded, we excluded ourselves through the results of the 2016 referendum. I hav...

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/germany-may-abandon-100bn-fighter-jet-project-with-france-2n7ffv5g5 What a **** show... Not sure I'd want any part of this. No matter how many Deutschemarks they're willing to chuck in. One senior German official said Scholz saw no point in FCAS competing with Tem...

Baby steps, but the first time I've seen Shapps actively talking GCAP since taking over from Wallace:

Both now, and during DSEI when it was revealed, I can't say I see much to read into. Like the Aegir support ships it resembles, the 'original' Ellida was always proposed as highly customisable: - Well dock Vs extended fuel tanks for RAS - Hangar for 1 x Merlin and PCR facilities Vs more "extens...

If the navy were to integrate the brimstone/spear triple launcher onto the wildcat wing much like the South Koreans have done with spike on their wildcat, they would make the army look really stupid. Something they don't seem to require much assistance with in recent decades. When you think that Ly...

Rambling, incoherent nonsense from Harry Cole. Though The Sun has a great deal more access to the government than its competitors, so might be a kernel of truth, amidst the nonsense: https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/politics/24576681/row-with-germans-cost-defence-jobs/ BRITAIN faces a 6,000 defence job...

Little J wrote: ↑30 Oct 2023, 15:03

SW1 wrote: ↑30 Oct 2023, 10:34 Should of stuck with lynx in the role

As an Aside, the AH.7 had a cool look to it

The last few Super Lynx for export were built concurrent with Wildcat. Suspect had the appetite been there we could have delivered something suitable for the Apache role.

There are some fantastic snippets in this 1995 piece in the New York Times (£): https://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/13/business/worldbusiness/IHT-uk-must-choose-1-of-3-attack-copters-pitched.html Copters : Pitched Battle Near Done By Erik Ipsen, International Herald Tribune July 13, 1995 After a three-y...

There's good reason why The Admiralty, having recently pioneered nearly every carrier innovation, chose a near parallel landing runway for the CVA-01 design. https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/624/mcs/media/images/76003000/jpg/_76003392_aircraft_carrrier_cva10_624.jpg Effectively creates two separate run...

It could, but blimps are difficult to use. Perhaps a nicer solution would be a larger ISTAR drone used as a comms relay for smaller attack drones. Must be going mad as I thought I posed this the other day. One of the rather radical features I liked on BAE's 'Dreadnought 2050' concept was the large,...

If they order American they get no blow back, the defence is we ordered American is was the lowest risk and the best, that’s the mentality. It’s the easiest option for a quiet life until the next posting There are also certain 'voices' in the corridors of Whitehall and Westminster who have a curiou...

On a semi-related note, all seems to have gone quiet on the new Chinooks since Big Ben sulked off into the sunset. The recent silence likely points to one of two plausible scenarios. Either the UK is getting the amazing capable and highly expensive Chinooks as planned or the contract has been cance...

That sure looks like an 'exquisitely' expensive helicopter with all the bells and whistles to me… If they go with that it will be 30 units max. The Puma extension has likely cost the program about 10 units already. Not to mention the rebuilds and new engines a decade ago. Back when AW would have ju...

For those arguing for future LHD/LPH/LHA for the RN, what is the lifespan of the mistral class? when will france need to replace theirs? Couldn't say exactly but a guesstimate of 20-30 years is likely to put said replacement on a budgetary collision course with their new supercarrier. Even more so ...

Each air frame costs £15m each. Need to so some real creative accounting to make £1.8 billion for 16 units equal £15 million each. Even back in March the flyaway unit cost was double that amount. $37.8 million per RPAS https://www.shephardmedia.com/news/air-warfare/decision-to-delay-mq-9b-protector...

From The Times (£): https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/9d3ad060-6916-11ee-9cdc-99a8af137628?shareToken=acd530daf3aa092290f0207e1e198a25 Britain will send two Royal Navy ships to the Eastern Mediterranean and begin surveillance flights over Israel in a show of military support designed to reassure it...

jimthelad wrote: ↑10 Oct 2023, 21:51 Shame we can't do the same for Belfast!

Not long till we have a new one! Though sadly lacking 12 x 6" guns...

Looking good on the Thames!



....can't help but think she would suit dazzle camo to match the B1 Rivers though...

It looks like total chaos has broken out in Australian naval shipbuilding and procurement if this reporting is accurate. https://amp.smh.com.au/politics/federal/navy-firepower-boost-review-wants-more-destroyers-fewer-frigates-20231005-p5ea0z.html Cutting the Hunter Class to three seems ludicrous. H...

RFA Argus is a primary casualty reception vessel that’s what it has been doing for decades. It is not an aviation platform for combat operations the last time they tried that it was deemed unacceptable. Indeed Argus is severely less capable for that role than the last time she was used as such. Hav...

well it was 27, so maybe they were talking about the next-next batch. I suspect it's more likely just a mistake with numbers in the quote. The "next-next batch" only exists on Wikipedia with some highly questionable numbers and citing a UKDJ article which says nothing of the sort. Product...

https://www.defense-aerospace.com/uks-tempest-flying-technology-demonstrator-program-stealthy-in-shape-and-execution/ Was just reading this from Tusa. Something that caught my eye: [...] a sidebar chat with an MoD official: the next batch of 24 F-35s for the UK is on hold – the funding is needed els...

We also can’t quantify at this point how much more efficient the production process will be after the investment in infrastructure has been completed. An increase in construction efficiency of 20%-30% would make a big difference over the course of the program. The new construction hall and an addit...

London should admit one fact that was clear from the beginning of the current coalition in Berlin: the cohesion of the coalition will always prevail over any international and commercial issue. https://www.defense-aerospace.com/why-british-pressure-on-berlin-to-approve-typhoon-sale-to-saudi-is-doom...

London should admit one fact that was clear from the beginning of the current coalition in Berlin: the cohesion of the coalition will always prevail over any international and commercial issue. https://www.defense-aerospace.com/why-british-pressure-on-berlin-to-approve-typhoon-sale-to-saudi-is-doom...