Cheers Magner, great name btw. This thread ebbs and flows, my interest is mainly to work for more built in survivability and protection for our aircraft.
I am of the aircrew generation who sat on coils of chain, FDA is a subject close to my heart.
Mags, just a thought about the Mayday aircraft on Monday, which performed an emergency landing following an emergency descent into Kandahar airfield.
Kandahar is hot, hot, hot, at the moment and will continue to be. Civilian food/water supply convoys heading for coalition bases are being attacked on a regular basis, ANA, and local friendlies are being killed at a rate of 60 or so a month. A few weeks a go a coalition helo was shot down by a combined attack, RPG and Generation 2 SAM. The point is, you never know when you are going to need FDA. Give me the choice and I would take it every time. Suggesting to UOR FDA after service entry just serves to underline the inability of the RAF to demand proper funding to achieve decent aircraft protection.
It wasn't a great feeling to be sitting on a flak jacket watching the tracer aimed in my general direction. Replacing an aircraft that has FDA with one that does not is not an indication of a coherent strategy. I thought we had left those dark days behind.
Nobody here needs reminding what a single round can do to a fuel tank and yet this aircraft has no prospect of fuel tank protection, neither does it's replacement. Whereas I will probably be flying an airliner with it in 3 or 4 years time. It's a funny old world.
Edited to add an apology to MOA. Sorry not in best mood today.
Last edited by nigegilb; 8th November 2007 at 15:16.