A new CAS platform?
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
Sofia (Bulgaria), Sept 26. (AP): Bulgaria should increase its military presence in Afghanistan, Defence Minister Veselin Bliznakov said on Monday, but added no decision had been made yet. "Given the complicated situation there, which has become even more complicated in the past weeks and months ... it is extremely necessary that all countries boost their participation,'' Bliznakov told reporters. "We should take a very serious approach and fulfill our commitments as a (NATO) member.''
Bulgarian Air Force Currently 31 single seat and 4 trainer Su-25 operational......
Bulgarian Air Force Currently 31 single seat and 4 trainer Su-25 operational......
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My personal opinion is that we trudge from year to year knowing that our kit is deficient but not actually doing anything meaningful about it. Take the Harrier as an example, great cockpit, some great weapons. But we never bought it a decent pod, and gave up on the cannon.
We have this mentality that some pieces of kit are icing on the cake - when actually they're the difference between the whole thing being great, or not worth bothering with. We also seem to take a completely misplaced pride when we get a bit of kit 'fitted for but not with'. We all know that procurement takes an age, so having the capability on ice, to be ordered at the rush is no comfort at all.
What we really need is the ability to say "No" to our lords and masters when they ask us to go to locations for which we don't have the correct equipment. We shouldn't have to rely on Urgent Requirements to get kit we should have anyway.
In answer to the original question, i personally think that we have a very good CAS asset in the Harrier, but it needs a decent pod, and (arguably) a cannon. I think that these investments would make more sense than using the F3 in the role. I think that the F3 would actually be ideally suited to a SCAR type role, toting Alarm, ASRAAM and AMRAAM, plus a cannon, it would make a very competent 'bookshelf' for what would appear to be very little outlay.
We have this mentality that some pieces of kit are icing on the cake - when actually they're the difference between the whole thing being great, or not worth bothering with. We also seem to take a completely misplaced pride when we get a bit of kit 'fitted for but not with'. We all know that procurement takes an age, so having the capability on ice, to be ordered at the rush is no comfort at all.
What we really need is the ability to say "No" to our lords and masters when they ask us to go to locations for which we don't have the correct equipment. We shouldn't have to rely on Urgent Requirements to get kit we should have anyway.
In answer to the original question, i personally think that we have a very good CAS asset in the Harrier, but it needs a decent pod, and (arguably) a cannon. I think that these investments would make more sense than using the F3 in the role. I think that the F3 would actually be ideally suited to a SCAR type role, toting Alarm, ASRAAM and AMRAAM, plus a cannon, it would make a very competent 'bookshelf' for what would appear to be very little outlay.
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Nice and easy then ! Please Bulgaria send 'X' number of your finest SU-25's and some crews to Afghanistan and we will provide the fuel,bombs/shells and the B&B !
In your own time carry on !
In your own time carry on !
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Surely what the Good Army chaps really want is 10,000 more troops armed to the teeth with big guns and a huge stack of ammo. They don't need CAS then do they? Just some nice transport helicopters to get them close to the kill zone and re-supply when required.
Maybe I'm being dense, (I'm a lifelong truckie) but with no airbourne threat, surely there is no real need for air support if we outnumber and outgun the ground forces we're fighting?
And aren't several thousand soldiers cheaper than a Typhoon?
Maybe I'm being dense, (I'm a lifelong truckie) but with no airbourne threat, surely there is no real need for air support if we outnumber and outgun the ground forces we're fighting?
And aren't several thousand soldiers cheaper than a Typhoon?
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Back in the thirties we used to use various Hawkers in those parts of the world to subdue the hordes. Unfortunately you can throw any number of soldiers into Afghanistan but it's still a large country and they know it like the
back of their hands. It probably mirrors the Russian approach but CAS is the only option if you do not wish to loose large numbers of troops.
back of their hands. It probably mirrors the Russian approach but CAS is the only option if you do not wish to loose large numbers of troops.
Glum,
It costs far fewer lives to merely find the bad guys at a distance and call in LOTS and LOTS of heavy things that go BOOM! There is no getting away from the need for brave men with rifles to close with and destroy the enemy but it sures makes their job much, much easier and safer if you weed out as many as you can before the Infantry get to rifle range of the Oppos.
I prefer the concept of spending Artillery, Bombs, Rockets, Missiles, and Bullets rather than lives, thank you.
It costs far fewer lives to merely find the bad guys at a distance and call in LOTS and LOTS of heavy things that go BOOM! There is no getting away from the need for brave men with rifles to close with and destroy the enemy but it sures makes their job much, much easier and safer if you weed out as many as you can before the Infantry get to rifle range of the Oppos.
I prefer the concept of spending Artillery, Bombs, Rockets, Missiles, and Bullets rather than lives, thank you.
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I wonder if there is a place in the brush fires that you guys are currently engaged in a place for some machinery of old in the form of the Flying Dump Truck aka Spad aka A1 Skyraider. 4X20mm cannon, 8,000lb of ordnance, 15 hardpoints, time on station, bullet proof (almost) radial engine, not as vulnerable as a helo. Naturally need to be fitted with modern systems for delivery of guided weapons. Buy a squadron for the price of one jet. Not quite the cache of a jet for the driver though, though once you've been introduced to operating a radial you would have no other form of locomotion in mind. 
I pose the question with some measure of seriousness.
I pose the question with some measure of seriousness.
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Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
Stick a Nimrod up nice an high and use the technology
Pending the purchase of JASSM and a modification for a suitable targeting system, I am not sure what the Nimrod could do, and it wouldn´t answer the case where guns/rockets are needed rather than bombs.
If that type of platform were the solution I am sure the USAF have B-52s on station we could use.
Before we all start designing our great new CAS ac, we should probably remember that all this has kicked off over the comments from ONE pissed off Para about an engagement that happened over a month ago. Up until then I had heard nothing but praise for the work that JFH had been carrying out supporting the troops on the ground. During my time in the Stan I have met many Dutch, US, Canadian, Brit, Australian and other troops who have come over to meet the Harrier pilots where they work in KAF to express their gratitude for what they've done. This is often a very humbling experience as putting a face to the voice you were speaking to on the radio not long ago when they were in harms way, possibly losing colleagues, really brings home to you just what a hellish situation it is on the ground out there.
This is not to say that we are perfect every time. There are times pilots "cannot identify the target" (as the Major said), but sometimes the talk-ons are poor, often the targets are people hiding behind rocks in a desert full of rocks etc etc. But the pilots WILL NOT DROP unless they are certain they have identified the target. This can obviously lead to frustration on the parts of the guys on the ground, but we're limited by ROE and nobody wants to commit fratricide.
Rather than provide a new aircraft out there, how about fitting a decent targeting pod to the jet? As anyone who has worked with TIALD knows, picking out small targets without pinpoint co-ords can be next to impossible. Bring on Litening 3!
This is not to say that we are perfect every time. There are times pilots "cannot identify the target" (as the Major said), but sometimes the talk-ons are poor, often the targets are people hiding behind rocks in a desert full of rocks etc etc. But the pilots WILL NOT DROP unless they are certain they have identified the target. This can obviously lead to frustration on the parts of the guys on the ground, but we're limited by ROE and nobody wants to commit fratricide.
Rather than provide a new aircraft out there, how about fitting a decent targeting pod to the jet? As anyone who has worked with TIALD knows, picking out small targets without pinpoint co-ords can be next to impossible. Bring on Litening 3!
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What aircraft are almost all current aircrew familiar with?
Tucano.
ALX LIGHT ATTACK AIRCRAFT
In 1995, Embraer was awarded a contract to develop a variant of the Super Tucano, known as the ALX or Light Attack Aircraft, for the Brazilian Air Force (FAB), optimised for the environmental conditions of the Brazilian Amazon. The ALX is capable of operating day and night missions from remote bases and unpaved runways with minimal ground support. The first production aircraft was completed in 1999.
In August 2001, the Brazilian Air Force awarded Embraer a contract for 76 ALX aircraft, with options for a further 23. Fifty one of these aircraft will be two-seater versions, designated AT-29, which will enter service at the Natal Air Force Base to replace the AT-26 Xavante advanced jet trainers, which are approaching the end of their operational lives. The remaining 25 aircraft will be the single-seat A-29 version. One of the main missions of the aircraft will be border patrol under the Sistema de Vigilancia da Amazonia (SIVAM) programme. The first aircraft was delivered in December 2003 and final delivery is scheduled for 2006.
WEAPONS
The aircraft is fitted with two central mission computers. The integrated weapon system includes software for weapon aiming, weapon management, mission planning and mission rehearsal. On-board recording is used for post mission analysis. The aircraft has five hardpoints for carrying weapons, and is capable of carrying a maximum external load of 1,500kg. The aircraft is armed with two wing mounted 12.7 mm machine guns with a rate of fire of 1,100 rounds per minute and is capable of carrying general purpose bombs and guided air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles. Brazilian AF aircraft will be armed with the MAA-1 Piranha short-range infrared guided air-to-air missile from Orbita.
The two seat AT-29 is fitted with a forward-looking infrared AN/AAQ-22 SAFIRE turret on the underside of the fuselage. The SAFIRE thermal imaging system supplied by FLIR Systems is for targeting, navigation and target tracking. The system allows the aircraft to carry out night surveillance and attack missions.
Tucano.
ALX LIGHT ATTACK AIRCRAFT
In 1995, Embraer was awarded a contract to develop a variant of the Super Tucano, known as the ALX or Light Attack Aircraft, for the Brazilian Air Force (FAB), optimised for the environmental conditions of the Brazilian Amazon. The ALX is capable of operating day and night missions from remote bases and unpaved runways with minimal ground support. The first production aircraft was completed in 1999.
In August 2001, the Brazilian Air Force awarded Embraer a contract for 76 ALX aircraft, with options for a further 23. Fifty one of these aircraft will be two-seater versions, designated AT-29, which will enter service at the Natal Air Force Base to replace the AT-26 Xavante advanced jet trainers, which are approaching the end of their operational lives. The remaining 25 aircraft will be the single-seat A-29 version. One of the main missions of the aircraft will be border patrol under the Sistema de Vigilancia da Amazonia (SIVAM) programme. The first aircraft was delivered in December 2003 and final delivery is scheduled for 2006.
WEAPONS
The aircraft is fitted with two central mission computers. The integrated weapon system includes software for weapon aiming, weapon management, mission planning and mission rehearsal. On-board recording is used for post mission analysis. The aircraft has five hardpoints for carrying weapons, and is capable of carrying a maximum external load of 1,500kg. The aircraft is armed with two wing mounted 12.7 mm machine guns with a rate of fire of 1,100 rounds per minute and is capable of carrying general purpose bombs and guided air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles. Brazilian AF aircraft will be armed with the MAA-1 Piranha short-range infrared guided air-to-air missile from Orbita.
The two seat AT-29 is fitted with a forward-looking infrared AN/AAQ-22 SAFIRE turret on the underside of the fuselage. The SAFIRE thermal imaging system supplied by FLIR Systems is for targeting, navigation and target tracking. The system allows the aircraft to carry out night surveillance and attack missions.
Not great without a laser designator pod either. Even slower than an A10 as well, and I wouldn't want to be in AK range of the bad guys in an aircraft that's put together as shoddily as our Tucano is!
