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British air power
British air power
How do the capabilities of our air force compare with the US? i know they have greater numbers (as in everything of course). Is the Tornado GR4 the best low level ground bomber in the world?, when do we get to use some of these Euro fighters? and how long will the Harrier jumpjet be in service because i hear they might be ending its career in the near future, why?
alright
The Tornado was used in the low level role in the last war, but this time it is being used at medium altitude i believe, in conjunction with stand off weapons such as Storm Shadow. The Tornado was origianally designed for low level interdiction with thermonuclear weapons, but with the advent of weapons that supress air defences and better precision weapons, higher altitude flying is possible.
The Typhoon is not in service yet, god knows when it will, the current display aircraft have to be constantly caniblisied to keep them airborne. The original Eurofighter registration was ZH88, supposedly denoting the year it was due into service, yeah right.
The Harrier is due to be withdrawn around 2010 with the introduction of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
The main difference with the Yanks is that they have large numbers of air superiorty fighters and large bombers such as the B1, B2, B52.
The Typhoon is not in service yet, god knows when it will, the current display aircraft have to be constantly caniblisied to keep them airborne. The original Eurofighter registration was ZH88, supposedly denoting the year it was due into service, yeah right.
The Harrier is due to be withdrawn around 2010 with the introduction of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
The main difference with the Yanks is that they have large numbers of air superiorty fighters and large bombers such as the B1, B2, B52.
typhoon
Does anyone understand why the typhoon is not to be fitted with a gun?.
It will save 19 million apparently, but that seems a tiny mount copared to the total cost.
Also ive read reports in the press (telegraph) that the number is to be halved?.
It will save 19 million apparently, but that seems a tiny mount copared to the total cost.
Also ive read reports in the press (telegraph) that the number is to be halved?.
The mid-life update of the Typhoon will be fitted with a gun, but that is a long way off, I would think that costs have caused the removal of it in the short term. The Typhoon was designed in the Cold War to fight dog fights against super-manouverable Russian planes like the SU-27. I think the numbers may be cut, not as much as a half though, because there is simply no need for 250 odd fighters.
There are 3 kinds of people: those who can count & those who can't.
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voodoo sprout
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The idea is that the gun considerably shortens the airframe life, so the long term costs are noticably reduced. However, I do think for such a vital capability it will do much more harm than good 
. I didn't know that it was going to be added later though, the usual links would be interesting if you have any 
.
These days I think maneuverability is vital, as many targets will be small aircraft flying low in order to negate air superiority, even civilian light aircraft may become a major source of threat if the American wargames in the gulf a while ago were anything to go by.
. I didn't know that it was going to be added later though, the usual links would be interesting if you have any .These days I think maneuverability is vital, as many targets will be small aircraft flying low in order to negate air superiority, even civilian light aircraft may become a major source of threat if the American wargames in the gulf a while ago were anything to go by.
Last edited by voodoo sprout on Thu 08 May, 2003 6:20 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Fluffy bunnies - Grrrrr!
I saw that on the telly, probs on Discovery channel, and probs from a programe that was made a couple of years ago. You could try and search the Net and see what you find. 
Yes they are taking the gun out of the British version of the Typhoon but it is going into other countries versions of this plane. The Good thing is the gun is being replaced with a slab of concrete to keep it balanced correctly,
so when you run out of rockets to fire you can chuck lumps of concrete at the the opposition.
so when you run out of rockets to fire you can chuck lumps of concrete at the the opposition.
What is the reason for keeping it out anyway?
If they take it out it make the plane unstable, fair enough, put it back in then.
But some clevercloge decided to not bother with that idea and fill the gap with concrete!!!!
That is so completely stupid, why not put the bloody gun back!
Keepingn the gun wouln't be that expensive either, considering it would rarely be fired, so ammo wont need to be bought, but it is always better safe than sorry!
If they take it out it make the plane unstable, fair enough, put it back in then.
But some clevercloge decided to not bother with that idea and fill the gap with concrete!!!!
That is so completely stupid, why not put the bloody gun back!
Keepingn the gun wouln't be that expensive either, considering it would rarely be fired, so ammo wont need to be bought, but it is always better safe than sorry!
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Spannerman
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Not sure how true this is but I have read recently where the latest edition of the Nimrod has been put on hold as the bloody wings don't fit, anyone verify this one? I reckon we ought to save some dosh, buy/lease American hardware that is already proven (c-17 as an example) and the savings could be spent on more lunatic left wing tree hugging PC councils........now there's a thought!
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The JaCkAl
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