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Old 20th Feb 2013, 13:09
  #35 (permalink)  
tucumseh
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: uk
Posts: 3,226
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dervish

Briefly, Blue Fox was still a top class radar when it was disposed of during the conversion from SHAR FRS1 to FA2. It was disposed of because parts of the design were, and probably remain, top secret. Many asked to buy it; all were politely turned away. India had a basic variant, but weren’t allowed the full spec.



At the last disposal meeting (a huge task for TS kit) an RAF OR Branch pitched up and tabled a draft spec to fit a radar into a Tornado variant, with a view to undertaking a key Buccaneer role. The chief designer had a look and replied “The RN is scrapping 50+ Blue Fox radars that will more than meet this spec”.



OR was ecstatic but then the penny dropped. “If the RN are scrapping something that exceeds our wildest dreams, WTF are they getting as a replacement?” Blue Vixen. Plan A was quietly ditched and we heard no more.



More a commentary on the complete disconnect between OR Branches, their reluctance to engage civilian specialists and their flat refusal to conduct proper Requirement Scrutiny (which would have revealed all this in 2 minutes flat). The RN was slightly better at this, the Army infinitely worse. Still is. (Sorry!)
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