Couldn’t resist
[browser-shot url=”http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/industry/defence/11380717/Should-the-Navys-new-jet-be-called-F-35B-or-Sea-Lightning.html” width=”700″ height=”450″ href=”http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/industry/defence/11380717/Should-the-Navys-new-jet-be-called-F-35B-or-Sea-Lightning.html” target=”_blank”]Meanwhile, in the sleepy village of High Wycombe
Like the Sea Buccaneer, the Sea Phantom, the Sea Scimitar and the Sea Swordfish… oh wait.
But there’s always the Sea Harrier, Sea Fury and Seafire :)
Given the delays around the whole Naval Aviation programme though, maybe they should have named it the F-35 Wait ‘n’ Sea!
DW
AW has not exactly been enhancing his reputation of late has he?
I find it a real shame to be honest because surely he is an intelligent and resourceful person, ex 1SL for crying out loud. What went wrong?
I wonder what 617 Squadron think of that idea?
That’s one way to guarantee the FAA/RN will only ever get a handful of STOVL jets…
Silo mentality.
Ring fence your fleet.
Encourages the same behaviour in the RAF.
Risk both fleets longevity with future FE@R issues.
Don’t consider what a combined STOVL fleet with the RAF could achieve in terms of numbers.
Idiot.
Well combined fleet means bigger pool of cash, logistics and more defence against the many eyes of the treasury, Sea Lightning? Why not ‘thunder snow’ ;) or ‘weather bomb’? Or ‘budget bomb’ x) Get more noise from such newspaper print :P
I would not slag A.West so much though, one of the last big names in HM forces to go down south, thus he would be more emotional regarding the need of the navy to have good air cover, more so than others especially since I believe, his ship was sunk in a rather nasty manner.
Tis the silly season for desperate pleas and newspaper articles.
I agree ‘F35B Lightning 2’ would be a bit of mouthful but these things always get colloquially shortened.
Surely ‘Lightning FGR1’ or something like that is sufficient. Whatever it’s officially called it will almost certainly simply be called ‘Lightning’ by all involved anyway.
The moniker Lightning compared to its forebears is a bit off really, the original Lockheed Lighting was one of the fastest prop planes of WW2 and the GE Lighting as we all know was a official record holder for a service aircraft. The F35B at max speed clean (full internal weapons load) Mach 1.6 is no slouch compared to the Sea Harrier but still. Before anyone jumps in I know speed isn’t everything and the F35B brings a lot else to the party.
SLUF.
Wiseape … which SLUF did you have in mind? Steady level unaccelerated flight and/or short, little ugly fucker?
Sea Lightening definitely, The RAF will s**t a brick :-)
From the rumour mill- It’s OFGWA (Oh Fxxk, Gone Wrong Again)…
Hurry propose disbanding the FAA and the AAC. One united Air Force controlled by crabs.
I thought it was already settled, and the name was Dave?
Then would the program to fit the F-35B with British equipment be called “Here Thunder”?
It was the USAF that named it.
“I find it a real shame to be honest because surely he is an intelligent and resourceful person, ex 1SL for crying out loud. What went wrong?”
I think the type of intelligence and resourcefulness you need to be 1SL (political) is a lot different from that required not to sound like a pillock outside of the Westminster bubble.
WillS
On a related point should the RAFs Boeing Globemaster III C-17A-ER be called the Globemaster C1 ?
@Senex – The latter. I’m afraid I’m not sold on its looks.