MOD announces RAF Tornados in air on way to Iraq.

[Pontius Navigator]

BS, ah!

I presume you mean air freight sans parachute.

Otherwise, shades of Milo Minderbender.

[Two's in]

I suspect in Barnstormer's world the "signature not required" box would definitely be checked.

[4Greens]

RAF - Four aircraft.

RAAF SIX aircraft

What's the world coming to ?

[pr00ne]

4Greens,

In the REAL world...

RAF - four TORNADOES plus tanker and airlift support

RAAF - six a/c

RAF - a/c deployed in Afghanistan.

RAAF - nil

RAF - a/c deployed for Nigeria ops

RAAF - nil

And...

RAF - a/c flying combat ops over Iraq

RAAF - ???

[4Greens]

The RAAF have a tanker and a recce aircraft as well.

[pr00ne]

4Greens,

Makes sense, why aren't they flying ops though?

[BBadanov]

Total RAAF force in the Gulf currently 8 x F/A18Fs, 1 x E-7A, 1 x KC-30A, 1 x C-17A, and 1 x C-130J.


The C-17 and C-130 have been doing ops into Iraq for the past 6 weeks. Others shortly.

[Distant Voice]

It's called "being seen to be doing something". Very popular with Governments who have no real clue how to get out of a situation largely of their own creation.

Spot on. We are about to spend millions on missions over Iraq (and Syria). Missions without an end game. Missions that are being flown as a token, and putting aircrew lives at risk. History shows that you can not bomb an ideology into defeat, you have to present (and sell) an better idea. Over the past decade we have left conflict situations in a worst state than they were at the start. Iraq, Afghanistan, Lybia, Egypt etc.

DV