Lossie protest
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I hate to say it but I don't think RAF Lossie being in an SNP constituency stands much chance of remaining open.
Would Cameron et al sacrifice votes south of the border when they have no seats to lose in the North of Scotland?
Would Cameron et al sacrifice votes south of the border when they have no seats to lose in the North of Scotland?
Join Date: May 2010
Location: The Highlands
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OLF
If Lossie closes and the Tonkers move south, the Scottish Parliament should start charging the MOD to use the Low Level areas and bombing ranges in Scotland. Arguing that the locals should be compensated for having to put up with the noise etc without any of the finacial benefits of having the RAF based there.
Join Date: May 2010
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Defended from who,with what? A few useless and old Tornados. The new F35 will never see these shores after the next defence review (cut). The locals should get as much money out the government as they can now, before the welfare budget and the NHS swallow up our entire GDP.
1 military runway north of Leeming
But withdraw south of the Humber? Never! Church Fenton remains to fly the flag for the north. And don't forget Woodvale...
Join Date: Nov 2010
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Leuchars is Crucial
Not sure about "And RAF Leuchars is not big enough either - to cope with the Tornado OCU (XV?), another Tornado front line squadron (12, 14 or 617?) and the Typhoon build-up"
. One HAS Site partly occupied by the RAF Regt, one about to be empty and acres of top quality hard standing, plus a runway that's just been refurbished with a 25-year life = bags of capacity and ample opportunity to recycle former F3 infrastructure. It most certainly could accomodate one or even 2 GR4 sqns and still sustain the crucial build up of Typhoon. Better still, even CAS thinks Leuchars is crucial - just click the link on the video:
CAS Sep 2010
Thinking ahead, Leuchars is also well sited to meet the threats identified in the National Security Strategy, given its proximity to 80% of Scotland's population and easy links to transport and government infrastructure, including a lot of nuclear facilities. Further, if much or most of the FJ fleet ends up in Moray, how will the RAF engage with the public and exert influence when SDSR 2015 kicks off, and the Army starts citing relevance post-HERRICK? Leuchars is perfectly placed to guard against that, and absorb the non-Marham element of GR4. Simples!
. One HAS Site partly occupied by the RAF Regt, one about to be empty and acres of top quality hard standing, plus a runway that's just been refurbished with a 25-year life = bags of capacity and ample opportunity to recycle former F3 infrastructure. It most certainly could accomodate one or even 2 GR4 sqns and still sustain the crucial build up of Typhoon. Better still, even CAS thinks Leuchars is crucial - just click the link on the video:CAS Sep 2010
Thinking ahead, Leuchars is also well sited to meet the threats identified in the National Security Strategy, given its proximity to 80% of Scotland's population and easy links to transport and government infrastructure, including a lot of nuclear facilities. Further, if much or most of the FJ fleet ends up in Moray, how will the RAF engage with the public and exert influence when SDSR 2015 kicks off, and the Army starts citing relevance post-HERRICK? Leuchars is perfectly placed to guard against that, and absorb the non-Marham element of GR4. Simples!
Last edited by SIDEGAA; 12th Nov 2010 at 18:22. Reason: typo
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SIDEGAA,
Leuchars or Lossiemouth? One may well be selected based on its overall advantage over the other.
Min AF said today: "the MOD will need to determine what makes the most sense for the structure of our armed forces, including where they are based, where they need to train and operate from and ensuring value for money for the British taxpayer". So, just saying (in effect) that a particular station is close to Edinburgh and that this might be important in 2015 is unlikely to win the debate.
In terms of space, no one denies that you can park a lot of aircraft at Leuchars, but the infrastructure is so tired and worn out in a lot of places that it would cost a fortune to get it to a standard to house properly the numbers of Tornado and Typhoon aircraft that we're talking about, i.e. Leuchars is not a great option for making the most of taxpayers' money. Not to mention that Leuchars only has one decent length runway versus Lossiemouth's two. The facts are straightforward: Lossiemouth has been operating 4 Tornado squadrons (including the double-size plus OCU) for many years now and has the infrastructure to match (not surprisingly). Leuchars has never operated that many Sqns since it took delivery of the F3 has it (?), and therefore the scale of quality infrastructure available is much less. Lossiemouth even has a new Officers Mess and a couple of hundred new Married Quarters, and a new WOs and Sergeants Mess is being built as well.
I agree that St Andrews is a lovely place to live and that it would be a shame to lose Leuchars, but people may need to accept that some fairly tough decisions might need to be made based on what is best for Defence. If we are lucky then both bases may stay open.
Leuchars or Lossiemouth? One may well be selected based on its overall advantage over the other.
Min AF said today: "the MOD will need to determine what makes the most sense for the structure of our armed forces, including where they are based, where they need to train and operate from and ensuring value for money for the British taxpayer". So, just saying (in effect) that a particular station is close to Edinburgh and that this might be important in 2015 is unlikely to win the debate.
In terms of space, no one denies that you can park a lot of aircraft at Leuchars, but the infrastructure is so tired and worn out in a lot of places that it would cost a fortune to get it to a standard to house properly the numbers of Tornado and Typhoon aircraft that we're talking about, i.e. Leuchars is not a great option for making the most of taxpayers' money. Not to mention that Leuchars only has one decent length runway versus Lossiemouth's two. The facts are straightforward: Lossiemouth has been operating 4 Tornado squadrons (including the double-size plus OCU) for many years now and has the infrastructure to match (not surprisingly). Leuchars has never operated that many Sqns since it took delivery of the F3 has it (?), and therefore the scale of quality infrastructure available is much less. Lossiemouth even has a new Officers Mess and a couple of hundred new Married Quarters, and a new WOs and Sergeants Mess is being built as well.
I agree that St Andrews is a lovely place to live and that it would be a shame to lose Leuchars, but people may need to accept that some fairly tough decisions might need to be made based on what is best for Defence. If we are lucky then both bases may stay open.
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It must have been difficult for the range officer, spotting the fall,when the Jag boys, came on a bombing run then
Those old and bold Bucc boys were always on the money
Those old and bold Bucc boys were always on the money
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
Lossiemouth even has a new Officers Mess and a couple of hundred new Married Quarters, and a new WOs and Sergeants Mess is being built as well.
...Lossiemouth even has a new Officers Mess ....
WOT? Hope they are still burning pianos there. And what is the new Bothy like??
[Please submit in two sentences, without the dog eating it.]
WOT? Hope they are still burning pianos there. And what is the new Bothy like??
[Please submit in two sentences, without the dog eating it.]