Raf Rivet Joint
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SDSR page 28
Don't understand this one at all.
Nurse
Almost certainly not - the Sentry is a 707 derivative (C-137 series) - rather than Rivet Joint which is a KC-135 derivative, based on the original Boeing 367-80 prototype with it's narrower fuselage.
S41
"withdraw the Sentinel airborne ground surveillance aircraft once it is no longer required to support operations in Afghanistan."
Nurse
Will Sentry's be providing the airframes for the rivet joints?
S41
Nurse wrote:
Surely MOD should have learnt the lesson that 'cut and shut' jobs when converting other airframes always seems to end in tears (and no aeroplane).
will Sentry's be providing the airframes for the rivet joints?
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The 2010 edition of the British spotters Bible "Military Aircraft Markings" list the USAF serials for the 3 Jointed Rivets that are due to join the RAF , they are all F.Y.'64 RC-135W models , so all 3 airframes will be well over 45 years old when back in service !
Refurbished US Airframes
There should be no problem with the Rivet Joint. Although the last C-135 airframe was built in FY 1963/1964, the USAF is anticipating not retiring the last until 2040 ! I can't speak for the mission equipment but at least it will have commonality with US variants and presumably upgrades will be offered from time to time.
The last time we procured surplus, refurbished aircraft from the US, we got the bargain of the 20th century. Qty 15 x F-4J(UK) were bought for only GBP 120 M including GSE and spares. Originally, they were going to be retired when due a Major servicing (after about 3-4 years) but in the end gave good service for 8 years (1984-1992) with 74 Sqn (Tigers).
The last time we procured surplus, refurbished aircraft from the US, we got the bargain of the 20th century. Qty 15 x F-4J(UK) were bought for only GBP 120 M including GSE and spares. Originally, they were going to be retired when due a Major servicing (after about 3-4 years) but in the end gave good service for 8 years (1984-1992) with 74 Sqn (Tigers).
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Unbelievable waste
You mean like the £ 4.8 Bn already spent on MRA4. However much it will be on 2 carriers, 1 of which will need to be sold straight away and the other won't have any aircraft to fly off it. Oh and if they do decide to sail it anywhere they won't have the long range maritime picture because we have slashed the surface fleet, sub surface fleet and long range MPA.
This isn't a strategic defence review no matter how hard they try to sell it; we all know the capabilities ARE required. This is an immediate survival exercise to prevent the country from going bankrupt. In the meantime forget any claims we had to the Malvinas, North Atlantic trade routes etc etc. We are now about to become a third world nation who for some reason still has a nuclear deterrent.
This isn't a strategic defence review no matter how hard they try to sell it; we all know the capabilities ARE required. This is an immediate survival exercise to prevent the country from going bankrupt. In the meantime forget any claims we had to the Malvinas, North Atlantic trade routes etc etc. We are now about to become a third world nation who for some reason still has a nuclear deterrent.
Nav Attacking - send one of the returning Bdes from Germant to the FIs then. That kind of makes the islands difficult to take; Nimrod or no Nimrod!
There are many ways to skin a cat...
BTW, what current threats are there to the North Atlantic Trade Routes?
There are many ways to skin a cat...
BTW, what current threats are there to the North Atlantic Trade Routes?
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
Defense News: Tanker Arrives for Conversion to Intel Role for RAF
LONDON - The first of three Boeing KC-135 tankers scheduled to be converted to Rivet Joint signals intelligence-gathering aircraft for the Royal Air Force has arrived at prime contractor L3 Communications' U.S. factory.
This will kick off what British officials have termed an unparalleled cooperation agreement, allowing RAF crews to co-man U.S. Air Force Rivet Joint RC-135W aircraft in combined operations until the new aircraft are delivered. An agreement to include the British machines in a joint capability upgrade, support and maintenance program with their U.S. counterparts until at least 2025 was ground-breaking, according to Ministry of Defence program leader Bill Chrispin, quoted in an in-house magazine.
The British are scheduled to withdraw the remaining two Nimrod R1's that have been providing signals intelligence in places like Afghanistan sometime next year, leaving a three-year break until the first of the new U.S.-provided aircraft enters service in 2014. The final aircraft will not be delivered until 2018, an RAF spokesman said.
Analysts reckon U.S. Rivet Joint's partly crewed by British personnel will be tasked to fill a key capability gap in Britain's defenses until the fleet of Boeing aircraft arrives. The spokesman declined to comment on how the British will plug the hole in its intelligence-gathering capability. Four RAF crews are due to start training at Offutt Air Base, Neb., next year. Airborne mission operators, pilots, ground exploitation operators and support personnel will be involved.
The British program, known as Airseeker, is expected to cost 700 million pounds ($1.1 billion) in procurement and a further 500 million pounds in support costs, including co-manning, up to 2025. Although the Airseeker aircraft will be British-owned and -operated, the aircraft will become part of a combined fleet of 20 U.K./U.S. machines and associated systems managed by a team based at L3's Greenville, Texas, factory.
Under terms of the deal, the British aircraft will be refurbished and the mission systems upgraded every four years, according to the Desider magazine.
LONDON - The first of three Boeing KC-135 tankers scheduled to be converted to Rivet Joint signals intelligence-gathering aircraft for the Royal Air Force has arrived at prime contractor L3 Communications' U.S. factory.
This will kick off what British officials have termed an unparalleled cooperation agreement, allowing RAF crews to co-man U.S. Air Force Rivet Joint RC-135W aircraft in combined operations until the new aircraft are delivered. An agreement to include the British machines in a joint capability upgrade, support and maintenance program with their U.S. counterparts until at least 2025 was ground-breaking, according to Ministry of Defence program leader Bill Chrispin, quoted in an in-house magazine.
The British are scheduled to withdraw the remaining two Nimrod R1's that have been providing signals intelligence in places like Afghanistan sometime next year, leaving a three-year break until the first of the new U.S.-provided aircraft enters service in 2014. The final aircraft will not be delivered until 2018, an RAF spokesman said.
Analysts reckon U.S. Rivet Joint's partly crewed by British personnel will be tasked to fill a key capability gap in Britain's defenses until the fleet of Boeing aircraft arrives. The spokesman declined to comment on how the British will plug the hole in its intelligence-gathering capability. Four RAF crews are due to start training at Offutt Air Base, Neb., next year. Airborne mission operators, pilots, ground exploitation operators and support personnel will be involved.
The British program, known as Airseeker, is expected to cost 700 million pounds ($1.1 billion) in procurement and a further 500 million pounds in support costs, including co-manning, up to 2025. Although the Airseeker aircraft will be British-owned and -operated, the aircraft will become part of a combined fleet of 20 U.K./U.S. machines and associated systems managed by a team based at L3's Greenville, Texas, factory.
Under terms of the deal, the British aircraft will be refurbished and the mission systems upgraded every four years, according to the Desider magazine.
