Is Ukraine about to have a war?

[Tartiflette Fan]

Originally Posted by pasta

An alternate interpretation could be "Join the RAF, and within a few years it could be you doing stuff like this."

Never hurts to keep the recruitment spin going if you want the best candidates to apply.

OK, but on balance, I would still give it -10 on the diplomatic front ( imagine if there were an incident and the Russians requote his words about young, inexperienced pilots ) and +1 on the recruitment side;

[Tartiflette Fan]

Originally Posted by charliegolf

Early 20s. Yeah, right.

CG

Too enigmatic , CG. How about using those well-honed didactic skills and enlightening those of us not on your high-frequency wavelength.

[Usertim]

Rus airforce helps annihilate russian unit.

“After the air bombardment of their own positions, the commander of the 38th Motorized Rifle Brigade, Colonel Kurbanov Andrey Borisovich, asked the commander of the Eastern Military District, Colonel-General Chaiko Alexander Yurevich [Aleksandr Yuryevich Chaiko], to no longer provide him with such air support,” he added.
https://sofrep.com/news/russias-elit...by-ukrainians/

Some speculation on line that the russian airstrikes were being called in on the rus position by UAF , but anyways it is clear they took heavy losses

Facebook Post

[GlobalNav]

Originally Posted by Ripton

It wouldn't surprise me if Putin doesn't consider Belarusian forces to be an extension of the RF forces albeit slightly more expendable. As such he would would consider an attack on them would be an an attack on him.

That's not to say I don't think sending Putin a message by making an example out of Lukashenko would be a bad thing.

I understand and don’t disagree, but at this point I’m not especially interested in what Putin’s perverted mind thinks and I doubt it’s even possible to send him a message (that he would consider).

Let’s do what will save Ukrainian lives. I’m more concerned about what we do for them and what message it sends to them. And for those who are interested, there would be something of military aviation interest in that.

[GlobalNav]

Originally Posted by Beamr

Soviet Russian authorities say that a Mig31 crashed today in the Leningrad region. Authorities say that the jet was on a routine training mission when crashed. The crew ejected safely.

https://tass.ru/proisshestviya/14324931

Glad for both the loss of the aircraft and safety of the flight crew.

[Darkmouse]

Originally Posted by Tartiflette Fan

Too enigmatic , CG. How about using those well-honed didactic skills and enlightening those of us not on your high-frequency wavelength.

​​​​​​I can enlighten you! There is no way on earth that FJ pilots recently out of the training system are in their early twenties. Even if they joined at 18, I'd estimate them to be in their mid-twenties at best. And for most, probably early-thirties.

[[email protected]]

Having read some of the other articles on that TASS site I wouldn't believe anything they say.

[Beamr]

Originally Posted by [email protected]

Having read some of the other articles on that TASS site I wouldn't believe anything they say.

here's kommersant on the same subject with a picture of a smoking hole claimed to be something that used to be a mig31. Did the crew survive? Dunno, that's what they claim.
But you have a point there: if a news agency works in Russia, it's stories are officially approved so they publish the Kremlin truth. Need for a grain of salt.
https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/5303556

[GlobalNav]

Originally Posted by Tartiflette Fan

How would you differentiate between Belarussian troops and RF troops stationed/staging there ? What do you think the consequences of an attack on Russian troops - there at the invitation of the Belarussian government - would be ?

Why worry about that? Oops, sorry about that. At least it’s not targeting civilians

[skua]

Originally Posted by Tartiflette Fan

"Ahead of a visit to the base, Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston said some of the British pilots were in their early 20s and "just out of training". They now face having to make critical judgments in the skies to avoid a potentially catastrophic confrontation with Russia."
.

Has MFTS jumped to warp speed a few years back? I think not.

[Tartiflette Fan]

Originally Posted by Darkmouse

​​​​​​I can enlighten you! There is no way on earth that FJ pilots recently out of the training system are in their early twenties. Even if they joined at 18, I'd estimate them to be in their mid-twenties at best. And for most, probably early-thirties.

So why would he say it - completely uninformed ? As I wrote, it is ( for me ) a stunningly stupid, witless comment from the most senior officer. I give no credence to the previous comment about being for recruitment.

[langleybaston]

Originally Posted by Tartiflette Fan

So why would he say it - completely uninformed ? As I wrote, it is ( for me ) a stunningly stupid, witless comment from the most senior officer. I give no credence to the previous comment about being for recruitment.

Better if he kept to the wokery ........... at least he understands that load of old cobblers.

As long ago as the late 1960s at Gutersloh, the men who I Met-briefed to fly Hunters and Lightnings were more-or-less my peer group for age, and I was just into my thirties. All of my pilot neighbours on the patch were my age or older, and their wives [so I was informed, you understand] were sort-of-30. Big drama as 'er-next-door hit that mark!

[Timelord]

Does anyone know what the “ precision munitions capable of lingering in the sky until directed to a target” that the PM has promised to Ukraine are?

As to CAS and Typhoon pilots in early 20s? - Completely out of touch.

[Video Mixdown]

Originally Posted by Tartiflette Fan

So why would he say it - completely uninformed ? As I wrote, it is ( for me ) a stunningly stupid, witless comment from the most senior officer. I give no credence to the previous comment about being for recruitment.

Strange thing to get so exercised about. What does it matter?

[Tartiflette Fan]

Originally Posted by Darkmouse

​​​​​​I can enlighten you! There is no way on earth that FJ pilots recently out of the training system are in their early twenties. Even if they joined at 18, I'd estimate them to be in their mid-twenties at best. And for most, probably early-thirties.

So why would he say it - completely uninformed ? As I wrote, it is ( for me ) a stunningly stupid, witless comment from the most senior officer. I give no credence to the previous comment about being for recruitment.

[NutLoose]

We’ve sent Harpoons.

Twitter

[Ninthace]

Originally Posted by NutLoose

We’ve sent Harpoons.

https://twitter.com/massimoankor/sta...01343016849412

I wonder how they are going to operate them?

[NutLoose]

I don’t know, there are land based launchers, but did the U.K. ever invest in them? Or are we providing the missiles and someone else the launcher, or have they cobbled up a system to mount it somehow on a truck?

[langleybaston]

Originally Posted by NutLoose

I don’t know, there are land based launchers, but did the U.K. ever invest in them? Or are we providing the missiles and someone else the launcher, or have they cobbled up a system to mount it somehow on a truck?

Where there's a will there's a way. the Falklands taught as that: What SHOULD have taken months took days. And that was for both sides. Exocet land-launched for example.
Going right back to Mafeking, necessity is the mother of invention, and defenders get very good at it.

[SATCOS WHIPPING BOY]

Originally Posted by Darkmouse

​​​​​​I can enlighten you! There is no way on earth that FJ pilots recently out of the training system are in their early twenties. Even if they joined at 18, I'd estimate them to be in their mid-twenties at best. And for most, probably early-thirties.

Correct to a degree. I know an fj pilot who completed Valley aged 23 1/2. Had he then gone straight to fj frontline as planned he would have been 24 1/2 doing the stuff fj pilots do. A short instructor tour post-valley slowed that path but he still was frontline fj on Q and shader aged 26 and a bit.

For what it's worth, he loves it.