We were quite good at off-base Ops in the good old Harrier days - "1"s in TACEVAL across the board pretty much says it all.
But do those now in charge have any idea of the support tail that we had in those good old "Cold War" days?
The Harrier was a relatively simple aircraft to operate and maintain. OK - a field engine change was a real pain in the A** - but otherwise it seemed to enjoy the environment and felt that it was at home. It even did well - perhaps better than some (or most) expected at absorbing Argentinian bullets. But we only had relatively simple weapons - no sophisticated clever weapons.
I also did get to fly the Jaguar onto and from an Autobahn not far from Ramstein - but that was a simple on/off exercise. No lengthy operation to include weapons.
So - great idea - let's re-invent the wheel and disperse aircraft from our now rather minimal number of MOB's - but can we actually operate from those locations, or is it a cosmetic and political Magnolia (nothing wrong with Magnolia!) cover-up? And where is the support?
Last edited by ex-fast-jets; 23rd Jul 2021 at 19:47.