View Full Version : UAV with weapons?
Can someone confirm this... Looks like your Air Force is at odds with the press.
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2008/06/04/224431/exclusive-rafs-reaper-uav-conducts-first-air-strike.html
is this what the Lincolnshire Echo tried to say the other day??
http://www.thisislincolnshire.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=156130&command=displayContent&sourceNode=242285&home=yes&more_nodeId1=156139&contentPK=20780658
PPRuNeUser0211
6th Jun 2008, 08:08
LJR: The lincolnshire Echo is not exactly the greatest source of up to date on the spot info:
"Although the three £6 million aircraft are currently undergoing secret testing at Creech air base in Nevada in the US, it is thought that when they return to Britain their base is likely to be at RAF Waddington, near Lincoln. "
Err... yeah... secret testing. At Creech. Not on ops in Afghanistan. And we only have one at the moment! One is yet to be delivered, the other we stacked about a month or so back and are still awaiting an order for the replacement iirc.
The RAF has always said they'd be armed sooner or later, so it appears it's sooner, not later which makes a change!
stickmonkeytamer
6th Jun 2008, 09:11
39 Sqn is parented at Waddington (like the AWC) and Creech AFB is where the operators are. They remotely fly the aircraft from there as far as I know... How do I get that job????
SMT
minigundiplomat
6th Jun 2008, 11:31
"Although the three £6 million aircraft
I think that should now read two....
And the one of the Flight page carries missile rails on it's pylons.....
sedburgh
6th Jun 2008, 13:57
RAF Reaper deploys ground attack munitions
Top story on the RAF Web Site today
http://www.raf.mod.uk/news/archive.cfm?storyid=5DC13BC6-1143-EC82-2E885837D31A0610
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7439825.stm
Sounds like a great idea to me!
Ramage21
7th Jun 2008, 11:09
Daily Mail today:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1024797/RAF-Taliban-leader-killed-plane---piloted-remotely-Las-Vegas.html
Nice work
Beeayeate
7th Jun 2008, 16:15
Thought occurs . . .
For the whole time the RAF has been in existance it has been a bit of ready banter that we were the only service to send our officers to war, the troops stayed back at base and fixed things to allow this to happen.
Now though, the troops have to be on the front line fixing things (UAV's) and the officers are back at base making things happen from there!
Bit of an inversion if you ask me.
And just how does the 'pilot' tell the liney what snags the airframe has got?
:hmm:
Phone.
It's not just the 'O's out at Creech, and there are quite a few liney's fixing the Preds used for training, comms guys, admin staff and Ops/Int support.