Roadster280
22nd Mar 2006, 21:49
At the risk of starting WW3, in an idle moment, something occurred to me.
Since the RN dispensed with catapults, arrestor hooks, traditional FJ ac etc over 25 years ago, it occurs to me that apart from the very oldest officers and senior rates, there's no experience at all in the RN of this type of operations. Even if there were any such people left in the Navy, they would have been chocolate frogs back then anyway.
Obviously bringing in any new equipment involves a training requirement, but in this case, it is a whole new category of operations, a bit like the first helicopters must have been. How did we do that?
So if the decision is taken to catapult equip the new carriers, how on earth do we address the training requirement? No experienced staff to learn from. No procedures to be adapted. Seems to me we could only bastardise foreign (read US) practices. Who may well use different aircraft, and certainly different ships.
Even the RAF, who have "some experience in traditional FJ operations" have none in doing the same at sea.
Serious question, although I obviously realise that it could possibly prompt some mudslinging. Not my intention, I'd genuinely like to know how we are planning to address this. No slight intended on the Harrier/Sea Harrier.
Since the RN dispensed with catapults, arrestor hooks, traditional FJ ac etc over 25 years ago, it occurs to me that apart from the very oldest officers and senior rates, there's no experience at all in the RN of this type of operations. Even if there were any such people left in the Navy, they would have been chocolate frogs back then anyway.
Obviously bringing in any new equipment involves a training requirement, but in this case, it is a whole new category of operations, a bit like the first helicopters must have been. How did we do that?
So if the decision is taken to catapult equip the new carriers, how on earth do we address the training requirement? No experienced staff to learn from. No procedures to be adapted. Seems to me we could only bastardise foreign (read US) practices. Who may well use different aircraft, and certainly different ships.
Even the RAF, who have "some experience in traditional FJ operations" have none in doing the same at sea.
Serious question, although I obviously realise that it could possibly prompt some mudslinging. Not my intention, I'd genuinely like to know how we are planning to address this. No slight intended on the Harrier/Sea Harrier.