Being a mere ex-Stacker I've obviously not had the benefit of the inner workings of operational plannning etc but even using the limited knowledge gleened from the internet and crewroom chit chat even I can note a few issues with this statement.
The decision by the Government was in favour of retaining some Tornado aircraft and the Typhoon. This latter aircraft is not suited to ground attack roles for a number of reasons, not least of which is that it was not developed to undertake them.
- Typhoon not developed for GA? So it wasn't purchased to replace both the F3 (an AD aircraft) and the Jaguar (definately not an AD a/c) then?
The geometry of the aircraft prevents a good view of the ground.....
- Geometry of the a/c prevents a good view of the ground? Anyone who has actually sat in the cockpit of a Typhoon in use, rather than at a static display at an airshow or whilst playing Microsoft FS care to comment?
....and when carrying ground attack weaponry the aircraft is only subsonic.
- When carrying GA weaponry (which apparently it wasn't designed for) the Typhoon is only subsonic. Don't
all GA a/c that carry their weapons externally have to transit subsonically, due to RTS issues for their carriage (CoG shifts, etc, etc)?
For these reasons a pairing of Tornado and Typhoon is not ideal neither is designed for the type of operations that the government is likely to wish to undertake in the near future if those of the last fifteen years are any indication of what may be required of the RAF and RN
- If the events of the last week prove anything its that we can't base assumptions on what has gone on before but strange that the author mentions the last 15 years. During the last 15 years the Tornado force has carried out, quite successfully, operations that it and the Typhoon are currently being asked to undertake in Libya.
The decision by the government has also denied the fleet any means of self-defence by aircraft.
What realistic self-defence option for the fleet did the GR9, with a couple of Sidewinders strapped on, really offer? No radar, limited legs and slow. Didn't the fleet lose its last credible form of self-defence by a/c when the Admirals coughed up the FA2?
Wasn't the T45 supposed to provide all the AD needs the fleet would require until the introduction of the JSF?