Times interview - CAS
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Times interview - CAS
4 April 2006
The Times
Public Agenda 5
English
(c) 2006 Times Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved
Sir Jock Stirrup has overseen big cutbacks in the RAF, but he tells Michael Evans that the transformation will safeguard the force as the second most powerful in the world
FROM his days as a young fighter pilot to his current post as Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup has seen his service transformed into a significantly smaller but more potent force.
Like his counterparts in the Royal Navy and Army, he has had to oversee cuts in both manpower and equipment to meet the demands for a peace dividend and the Government's strategy for multirole forces, and he admits that enforcing redundancies among his "people" was one of his most difficult jobs.
However, the transformation of the RAF has ensured that his service has remained "the second most powerful air force in the world".
For many years the RAF suffered from the accusation that it needed too many ground crew engineers and mechanics to get one fighter aircraft or bomber into the air. When Sir Jock entered RAF College Cranwell in 1968, the service had 120,000 personnel, a large proportion of whom were ground staff. By 2008, the manpower figure will have come down to 41,000.
"Redundancies generate uncertainty, which is why I have tried to execute the (drawdown) programme as rapidly as possible, but it is still taking three years, and soon we will be announcing the third and final tranche," Sir Jock says.
His three years as Chief of the Air Staff will end on April 28, when he succeeds General Sir Michael Walker as the next Chief of the Defence Staff, the Government's top military adviser.
The cutbacks coincided with an efficiency drive which finally rid the RAF of the numerical imbalance between air crews and ground staff. "One of my priorities was to reduce the cost of logistic support for air operations. We were on the way to bankruptcy," Sir Jock says. By cutting out waste and duplication, an aircraft on average now stays in a hangar for maintenance for two days, compared with 15 in the past. "That guarantees, for example, eight more Harriers for operations than before, and part of the reduction in costs comes from needing fewer uniformed people," he says.
The purchase of sophisticated guided weapon systems in recent years has also transformed the RAF's ability to make a difference on the battlefield. Weapons such as the Brimstone anti-armour missile have given the RAF a technological superiority unmatched even by the United States.
"In the early days of my career it would have taken 21 Jaguar bombers to take out a single Soviet tank. Now one aircraft equipped with Brimstone could take out a dozen tanks," he says.
The entry into service of the Eurofighter Typhoon marks the beginning of a new era in air capability. Sir Jock has flown it, and like all the RAF pilots who have tested it, he enjoyed the experience and believes that the four-nation programme has been a "success story" despite the cost overruns -the bill for the UK if the RAF buys 232 Typhoons is now Pounds 20 billion -long delays in the project and political disagreements between the partners, Britain, Germany, Spain and Italy.
The RAF chief is not happy with everything in his service: the most embarrassing problem he has faced was the purchase of eight Chinook Mark 3 helicopters from Boeing for Pounds 259 million which then failed to meet British military flying standards and have been grounded since they arrived. "It's a...situation we've got to put right because we need them now, we don't have enough helicopter lift capability," Sir Jock says.
The procurement contract was signed in 1995. But Sir Jock adds: "I don't think we're going to get the helicopters this year. It will take time."
Michael Evans is Defence Editor of The Times
SIR JOCK STIRRUP
* Born: December 4, 1949.
* Career: Commissioned in 1970, he flew Strikemasters in the Dhofar War, Jaguars in a reconnaissance role, and Phantoms on an exchange to the US. He commanded a Jaguar squadron until 1987, took charge of RAF Marham in 1990 and was appointed Director Air Force Plans and Programmes in 1994. He was Deputy Commander-in Chief Strike Command in 2000 and appointed Chief of the Air Staff in August 2003.
*What he says: "I think I made up my mind to join the RAF when I was nine or ten."
* Little-known fact: He thinks that the RAF of the future will retain a mix of manned and unmanned aircraft.
(c) Times Newspapers Ltd, 2006
The Times
Public Agenda 5
English
(c) 2006 Times Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved
Sir Jock Stirrup has overseen big cutbacks in the RAF, but he tells Michael Evans that the transformation will safeguard the force as the second most powerful in the world
FROM his days as a young fighter pilot to his current post as Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup has seen his service transformed into a significantly smaller but more potent force.
Like his counterparts in the Royal Navy and Army, he has had to oversee cuts in both manpower and equipment to meet the demands for a peace dividend and the Government's strategy for multirole forces, and he admits that enforcing redundancies among his "people" was one of his most difficult jobs.
However, the transformation of the RAF has ensured that his service has remained "the second most powerful air force in the world".
For many years the RAF suffered from the accusation that it needed too many ground crew engineers and mechanics to get one fighter aircraft or bomber into the air. When Sir Jock entered RAF College Cranwell in 1968, the service had 120,000 personnel, a large proportion of whom were ground staff. By 2008, the manpower figure will have come down to 41,000.
"Redundancies generate uncertainty, which is why I have tried to execute the (drawdown) programme as rapidly as possible, but it is still taking three years, and soon we will be announcing the third and final tranche," Sir Jock says.
His three years as Chief of the Air Staff will end on April 28, when he succeeds General Sir Michael Walker as the next Chief of the Defence Staff, the Government's top military adviser.
The cutbacks coincided with an efficiency drive which finally rid the RAF of the numerical imbalance between air crews and ground staff. "One of my priorities was to reduce the cost of logistic support for air operations. We were on the way to bankruptcy," Sir Jock says. By cutting out waste and duplication, an aircraft on average now stays in a hangar for maintenance for two days, compared with 15 in the past. "That guarantees, for example, eight more Harriers for operations than before, and part of the reduction in costs comes from needing fewer uniformed people," he says.
The purchase of sophisticated guided weapon systems in recent years has also transformed the RAF's ability to make a difference on the battlefield. Weapons such as the Brimstone anti-armour missile have given the RAF a technological superiority unmatched even by the United States.
"In the early days of my career it would have taken 21 Jaguar bombers to take out a single Soviet tank. Now one aircraft equipped with Brimstone could take out a dozen tanks," he says.
The entry into service of the Eurofighter Typhoon marks the beginning of a new era in air capability. Sir Jock has flown it, and like all the RAF pilots who have tested it, he enjoyed the experience and believes that the four-nation programme has been a "success story" despite the cost overruns -the bill for the UK if the RAF buys 232 Typhoons is now Pounds 20 billion -long delays in the project and political disagreements between the partners, Britain, Germany, Spain and Italy.
The RAF chief is not happy with everything in his service: the most embarrassing problem he has faced was the purchase of eight Chinook Mark 3 helicopters from Boeing for Pounds 259 million which then failed to meet British military flying standards and have been grounded since they arrived. "It's a...situation we've got to put right because we need them now, we don't have enough helicopter lift capability," Sir Jock says.
The procurement contract was signed in 1995. But Sir Jock adds: "I don't think we're going to get the helicopters this year. It will take time."
Michael Evans is Defence Editor of The Times
SIR JOCK STIRRUP
* Born: December 4, 1949.
* Career: Commissioned in 1970, he flew Strikemasters in the Dhofar War, Jaguars in a reconnaissance role, and Phantoms on an exchange to the US. He commanded a Jaguar squadron until 1987, took charge of RAF Marham in 1990 and was appointed Director Air Force Plans and Programmes in 1994. He was Deputy Commander-in Chief Strike Command in 2000 and appointed Chief of the Air Staff in August 2003.
*What he says: "I think I made up my mind to join the RAF when I was nine or ten."
* Little-known fact: He thinks that the RAF of the future will retain a mix of manned and unmanned aircraft.
(c) Times Newspapers Ltd, 2006
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Originally Posted by Boogeyboard
The cutbacks coincided with an efficiency drive which finally rid the RAF of the numerical imbalance between air crews and ground staff.
Originally Posted by Boogeyboard
"In the early days of my career it would have taken 21 Jaguar bombers to take out a single Soviet tank. Now one aircraft equipped with Brimstone could take out a dozen tanks," he says.
(c) Times Newspapers Ltd, 2006
(c) Times Newspapers Ltd, 2006
I'll have some of what he's on, please!
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When Sir Jock joined at RAFC Cranwell in 1968 we had a Far East Air Force, Air Forces Middle East, Near East Air Force and RAF Germany. To facilitate movements between our more distant outposts we operated staging posts in such delightful locations as Masirah, Salalah and Gan. These were, of course, occupied solely by ground trades. We also needed a much larger RAF Regt to defend them. Each Station also had its own Admin Unit, Padre and Sick Quarters. Each Command had its own Hospitals etc.
It is the reduction in full time Overseas commitments that has played the greatest part in the reduction in size of the RAF.
It is the reduction in full time Overseas commitments that has played the greatest part in the reduction in size of the RAF.
Wonder who Steve Shutt's 20 wingmen were when he splashed that Serb tank?
And when Jock was a Jag pilot, how many tanks would one WE177 have taken out, I wonder......
And when Jock was a Jag pilot, how many tanks would one WE177 have taken out, I wonder......
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that his service has remained "the second most powerful air force in the world".
mmmmm,
not sure what Sir Jock is smoking these days, but does he really believe that?? Maybe its time for him to join the thousands of us who have hung up our flying suits for a better life.
Good luck Sir Jock
TSM
mmmmm,
not sure what Sir Jock is smoking these days, but does he really believe that?? Maybe its time for him to join the thousands of us who have hung up our flying suits for a better life.
Good luck Sir Jock
TSM
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In the early days of my career it would have taken 21 Jaguar bombers to take out a single Soviet tank. "
ed.
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Originally Posted by The Swinging Monkey
that his service has remained "the second most powerful air force in the world".
mmmmm,
not sure what Sir Jock is smoking these days, but does he really believe that?? Maybe its time for him to join the thousands of us who have hung up our flying suits for a better life.
Good luck Sir Jock
TSM
mmmmm,
not sure what Sir Jock is smoking these days, but does he really believe that?? Maybe its time for him to join the thousands of us who have hung up our flying suits for a better life.
Good luck Sir Jock
TSM
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Cool, all we need now is a fight with an enemy with 2000 tanks and we can justify having over 200 Typhoon....(allowing for unserviceability etc).
Everyone talks about the inefficiencies of support manpower, but one can't help but wonder about the inefficiency of unused capability sat in HAS sites around the country - when each Typhoon is costing approx £86M, that pays for a bucket load of people to ease the strain on those deployed...
Everyone talks about the inefficiencies of support manpower, but one can't help but wonder about the inefficiency of unused capability sat in HAS sites around the country - when each Typhoon is costing approx £86M, that pays for a bucket load of people to ease the strain on those deployed...
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Originally Posted by South Bound
Cool, all we need now is a fight with an enemy with 2000 tanks and we can justify having over 200 Typhoon....(allowing for unserviceability etc).
Everyone talks about the inefficiencies of support manpower, but one can't help but wonder about the inefficiency of unused capability sat in HAS sites around the country - when each Typhoon is costing approx £86M, that pays for a bucket load of people to ease the strain on those deployed...
Everyone talks about the inefficiencies of support manpower, but one can't help but wonder about the inefficiency of unused capability sat in HAS sites around the country - when each Typhoon is costing approx £86M, that pays for a bucket load of people to ease the strain on those deployed...
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"Second most powerful in the world..........of those stationed in the UK" - see, works now you cynics!
"...he admits that enforcing redundancies among his "people" was one of his most difficult jobs..."
Not too sure why "people" would be in quotes, unless we're generally not regarded as such?
"...he admits that enforcing redundancies among his "people" was one of his most difficult jobs..."
Not too sure why "people" would be in quotes, unless we're generally not regarded as such?
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an aircraft on average now stays in a hangar for maintenance for two days, compared with 15 in the past
May be the case for a new or simple fast jet / training aircraft but not for an ageing complicated large one. As far as i can see there is less availablility and it is increasingly difficult to remain current. Its about time those airships got the finger out, looked at the real world and put the real issues before their careers!!!!
May be the case for a new or simple fast jet / training aircraft but not for an ageing complicated large one. As far as i can see there is less availablility and it is increasingly difficult to remain current. Its about time those airships got the finger out, looked at the real world and put the real issues before their careers!!!!
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If a chief rates his 'indians' in terms of how many tanks each of their jets could destroy, I think he has lost the plot. When it comes to Tank Plinking - once again RAF, you are 15 years too late!!!!
Surely you could utilise some other quantative form of measurement to rate your train set in the 21st century!
Maybe we should sell the Chinooks and PAY the ENEMY to go home!
Surely you could utilise some other quantative form of measurement to rate your train set in the 21st century!
Maybe we should sell the Chinooks and PAY the ENEMY to go home!
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Super tanker mentality
Having been to the RAeS event today, there were times when I wondered just exactly how long it takes for the MoD juggernaut to apply the brakes or come around to a new course.....
( More matelots than light blue in evidence as well. )
( More matelots than light blue in evidence as well. )
Originally Posted by GreenWings
I thought the second most powerful air force in the world was the US Navy
Confederate Air Force? Confederate? Dear me no, Roly old bean - in these huggy fluffy PC times 'Confederate' smacks of slaves picking cotton on southern plantations to the trouble making bigots, so now it's the Commemorative Air Force....
Has Jockstrap actually visited any RAF bases of late? It wouldn't take him long - there are precious few left.....
Has Jockstrap actually visited any RAF bases of late? It wouldn't take him long - there are precious few left.....
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Having been to the RAeS event today, there were times when I wondered just exactly how long it takes for the MoD juggernaut to apply the brakes or come around to a new course.....
Most recently it was the invasion of Poland that raised a few MoD eyebrows.
