Originally Posted by
ex-fast-jets
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 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?
I remember the good old days of Gutersloh and the sheer volume of MT needed to roll the support convoys. It might be instructive for someone to do the sums and work out just how much more kit groups of deployed aircraft will need as compared to being on an MOB where sharing is possible, Then there is storing the stores and fuel. Going to be fun!