Short-form opinion, updates and information.
January 9th 2015 is an historic day for the Royal Air Force as it marks the first increase in the number of frontline combat squadrons since the mid-1980’s. In a dangerous world where putting ‘boots on the ground’ is increasingly politically difficult the RAF is inevitably thrust to the front row of the UK’s force projection.
There are a number of commentators, mostly Navy enthusiasts, but not all, who like to wax-lyrical about why the RAF should be subsumed into the other Services. Most of the debate I have seen is well intentioned, but ill-informed and often tainted by a severe bias and a sense of bitterness against the Air Force. Most of the discussion is tainted by a desire to secure fixed wing aviation for the RN as it is viewed as some kind of panacea. This is dangerous as it is a poor motive disguised as savings with a desire to improve the UK’s defence capacity.
Fixed wing aircraft and helicopters in service with the British Armed Forces in December 2014
I was reading about the RAF’s HC5’s earlier this week (aka, the Worlds Most Expensive Chinooks TM) comparing them to the US MH-47G Special Operations
Air despatch, air dropping or aerial delivery is the ability to deliver vehicles and stores directly to the point of need from an aircraft
Its the little things that can sometimes deliver extra capability for not a lot of money. The US company Cen-Tex Aerospace has just had their
Air Tanker are progressing bringing the RAF’s Voyagers into service and as can be sen from the images below have also offloaded fuel to French
From the MoD this morning, news about Paveway IV and Typhoon READ MORE ABOUT UK COMPLEX WEAPONS https://www.thinkdefence.co.uk/uk-complex-weapons/
UK defence and security; analysis, reference content, opinions and resources.