Keeping things in perspective, F35B is a superb Harrier/Sea Harrier replacement. Slight problem its now being seen as a Tornado replacement not a harrier replacement! And it's a superb Tornado replacement too. Not really the Typhoons are going to be doing that, the F-35 will be a long way away from...

shark bait wrote:Interesting to hear those comment's on the AAS. If we do indeed have access to the program is would make the P8 a no brainer for me, consolidatating and improving our ISTAR feet.

As I mentioned before, kinda depends on what you have to give up to get them.

arfah wrote:I think a matelot would prefer one shot, one kill.

and that's why said Matelots have Astutes (among other reasons).

The elephant in the room is the payment of deprecation of equipment paid to the treasury. Making leasing the aeroplanes not that different than paying deprecation to the treasury on the aircraft that was paid for by the Equipment budget (hence why the B B C saying we will pay 6 billon for the one c...

I wonder what the price will be for a squadron of MPA. A couple less T26? A squadron fewer F-35B? Regiments? Fewer Scout SV? George will set the budget and the defense review will figure out how to fit a quart into a pint pot. Anyone who thinks the review will start with what's required and end up w...

Sea typhoon is a shitcunt of an idea. The view on landing for the pilot would have required landing by looking at a video screen. Plus the weight penalty of strengthening it would have been horrendous. I always find it most interesting that proponents of the f-35C quietly ignore the serious penalti...

ArmChairCivvy wrote:Not practical, but feasible (!) as the manufacturer has asked for permission to recondition and export them

And the manufacturer has been refused permission.

So what does the Treasury do? Discards "Smart Procurement" and basic business common sense, and picks the cheaper solution of maintaining two yards and their inherent (relative) inefficiency. Damages chances of exporting warships by keeping their price higher than it could be and costs th...

One of the basic principles of "Smart Procurement" is that decisions should be taken on lifetime cost rather than just initial purchase price. In other words, if spending more up front saves more money long term then do it. So Bae studies the Scottish shipyards and concludes that concentra...

Gabriele wrote:Lovely pictures, thank you for sharing.

+1

It will be interesting to see how Foxhound stacks up against the JLTV winner.

Are the 2x Phalanx CIWS confirmed ? One of my readers found it to be a strange choice since the USN apparently stopped Phalanx procurement in favor of the SeaRAM Phalanx is still being manufactured, sold, and used on USN ships. Excellent choice for the Type 26 for dealing with anything within missi...

RobWilliams wrote:http://www.pymes75.plus.com/military/index.htm

Set up by a MP.net user of the same name IIRC.

Thanks!

I would not say that CODLOG has an inherent advantage over IEP for ASW, at present they both have essentially the same "quiet mode" of diesels powering electric motors which turn the screws while the turbines are off. As with the CODLAG Type 23 you can tailor the specific configuration (m...

I'm confused. I thought the Boeing offer was for totally new build Apaches. Was I always wrong or did the script change somewhere along the line? And if it is for rebuilding the UK Apaches, are they familiar enough with the British model to have made a reliable bid? Or is it a case of sending in yo...

There's bits and pieces coming from all over the place. I'd hazard a guess that assembly will be more than a token affair. Then there's testing & QA. I think this was in the original bid from GD for all of them (i.e. assembly in the UK) when the number was a thousand or more. It's only when the...

I'm curious to see what happens with Germany, but i'm honestly not too terribly optimist. What caught my eyes is the very last phrase in the article. BAE is expecting a production contract for three ships after completion of the yearlong demonstration phase next April. I fear i see now what "b...

There's bits and pieces coming from all over the place. I'd hazard a guess that assembly will be more than a token affair. Then there's testing & QA. I think this was in the original bid from GD for all of them (i.e. assembly in the UK) when the number was a thousand or more. It's only when the ...

I'm confused. I thought the Boeing offer was for totally new build Apaches. Was I always wrong or did the script change somewhere along the line? And if it is for rebuilding the UK Apaches, are they familiar enough with the British model to have made a reliable bid? Or is it a case of sending in you...

xav wrote:1st public airshow appearance for the F-35

First for F-35A I believe. The B's been in a couple shows already.

Not quite sure why a gun when the narrative is that it never needs to get near enough to anything. I wonder if the RN will use their gun much. The gun is only integral in the A model - in the B and C it's in an external gunpod and is an optional extra. No doubt the beancounters will argue that it i...

Not quite sure why a gun when the narrative is that it never needs to get near enough to anything. I wonder if the RN will use their gun much.

Oh, Jesus. SPEAR 3 is the capability requirement. SPEAR happens to unfortunately be the name of the MBDA product aimed at meeting the requirement. The MBDA SPEAR is in development, and has been fitted to a Typhoon on the ground. It remains a MOD sponsored project, under the Complex Weapons initiati...

So were the Tornado's when they first entered service. All species.

Let me see now... we will have one FAA sqdrn, one RAF sqdrn, and one "swing" one that in a surge can onboard (i.e have kept the quals to do that up). OCU and the 4 test a/c aside. Check sum: 48. So from the above it seems that there is one from each? Your 48 has about the same validity as...