PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Answer yes or no to the RAF bombing Syria this coming week.
Old 4th Dec 2015, 23:16
  #246 (permalink)  
Easy Street
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
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Tornado can't carry RAPTOR and Brimstone simultaneously.

It's pretty obvious to me that the point of deploying Typhoon in the ground-attack role is that the Tornado fleet is stretched to its sustainable limit and any additional ground-attack capability added by Typhoon, even if it is "just" more Paveway IVs and Litening pods, is a good thing. Bear in mind the Tornado squadrons came into SHADER straight off the back of Afghanistan, and also took part in operations over Nigeria for a bit last year - it's not as if they have stored up a reserve of good will to burn in an extended surge, and we expect this to go on for years (the Government cited SHADER when it extended the third Tornado squadron to 2018). Sustaining the fight without prompting a flurry of PVRs - which would be particularly damaging among the WSO cadre, an endangered species - requires a cautious approach to deployment ratios. It's already at 1:2, which is pretty brutal by historic standards. Relocating all three squadrons permanently to Akrotiri might allow a greater effort - or it might result in a flood of PVRs from those unwilling to relocate. A bit risky, I would suggest.
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