Originally Posted by
glad rag
This is getting good now.
Order some more bibs and bobs few x10 million here and there jic.
Then when you go to use them
1. They have fallen out of configuration control
2. They have corroded beyond use
3. They aren't there in the first place
4. They have been subjected to canabilisation (See 2 above having environmental sct's breached).
And all that was "onboard" at Goia de Coll.
Amateurs clutching at straws.
ROFL.
Glad Rag
Far from being an 'Amateur clutching at straws’, I (like most of the Fleet Air Arm) have actually worked with both Royal Navy and other NATO nations Naval forces during long deployments abroad.
Spare engines are carried during such deployments, plus of course many other aircraft spares. That never led to any serious corrosion issues in my experience because appropriate storage conditions and good engineering maintenance practices were correctly maintained, etc.
We also transferred aircraft spares between other foreign NATO ships (who operated the same aircraft type). Carrying out component configuration checks is standard practice in both the military and civilian aviation world.
Obviously it is unlikely that engines would be exchanged between nations unless due to exception circumstances.
So in response to your 4 points:
1. They have fallen out of configuration control.
No not necessarily if appropriate checks are always made to ensure that does not happen. That should be a standard practice in aviation maintenance. Are you saying that the engine supplier and armed forces no longer know how to correctly maintain and use component records? If so that is very worrying.
2. They have corroded beyond use.
Not necessarily, I never came across that situation? Are you therefore saying that the JSF engine has serious corrosion issues and cannot be stored/maintained correctly?
3. They aren't there in the first place.
They could be if deemed necessary and someone was prepared to invest in providing them.
Note: The point I was making was (at least in the short term) it could be cheaper to invest in a few more spare engines rather than buying a complete new squadron of Ospreys (including their spare engines/other spares, GSE, role equipment), setting up a new squadron for them, training their aircrews, etc!
4. They have been subjected to canabilisation (See 2 above having environmental sct's breached).
Again canabilisation is only required if insufficient spares are available (See 2. and 3. above.)
Note: I hope that the JSF engine is not so poor ‘corrosion wise’ that it will not be possible to remove any parts from them without that leading to serious corrosion issues.