RAF transport fleet cuts
Around 1000 - 1200 miles dependant upon destination, so easily achievable by Albert.
Last edited by ExAscoteer2; 24th Aug 2021 at 18:14.
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I think this SF thing is a bit of a red herring. How often have Hercs been used in anger for SF ops in say the past decade?
Any plans to make an A400M based gunship? Serious question. I know that the USAF AC130 gunships have proved invaluable in both Iraq and Afghanistan for the US military (and often called in to help other allied troops).
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I sincerely doubt it, an expensive bit of kit to have orbiting over the bad guys at a low level.
We were once asked by the Yanks if we could orbit over an Afghan village pretending to be a gunship ‘for effect’ as theirs was u/s. When asked what the problem with it was they replied, ‘it got shot to sh*t over that village last night’.
The request was declined!
We were once asked by the Yanks if we could orbit over an Afghan village pretending to be a gunship ‘for effect’ as theirs was u/s. When asked what the problem with it was they replied, ‘it got shot to sh*t over that village last night’.
The request was declined!
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oh Jesus, can you imagine how the UK MAA would react to fitting anything dangerous to a military aircraft?
"Mildly" Eccentric Stardriver
BTW, if Wiki is to be believed the first flight of the Hercules was 67 years ago yesterday 23rd Aug 54. They'll be around for a while yet.
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The A400M is really good at what people think the C130 does, but funnily enough the operators of Albert only spend a tiny proportion of their time doing those particular things. To the people who think you can just borrow specialist TacAT capability on demand, google ‘The SOF Truths’
To be honest, the C-130J v. A400M arguments are very much like the C-130K v. C-130J arguments that appeared in this very forum when the J was shiny and new. I suspect that one day there will be an A400M v. whatever argument which will say exactly the same things all over again.
Certainly I have seen various C130s operating between UAE/Oman? and Kabul on FR24. The first was a US Navy one on that first manic weekend. Pity they don't seem be able to use airfields in Turkey or Pakistan like Turkish A400s do...
mmitch.
mmitch.
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Martin, I did partake of that discussion and was very much on the side of the J as I was flying it then but I had also flown the K so I was coming at it from an informed position; many of the J’s detractors were not.
I have also flown the A400M and while it’s a great strat ac it has some serious limitations that in my opinion will make it struggle to takeover from the J, particularly in the Tac role. Again I’m coming hopefully from an informed position.
I have also flown the A400M and while it’s a great strat ac it has some serious limitations that in my opinion will make it struggle to takeover from the J, particularly in the Tac role. Again I’m coming hopefully from an informed position.
As the current ACAS(Strategy) is an ex-trucky (AVM Simon Edwards) there is an informed voice at the top table.
Turkey is in the process of modernizing the avionics of 19 C-130Bs and Es which will continue to operate along side its A400Ms and CN-235s.
Erdoğan's policies are about 'Making Turkey Great (and Islamic) Again' and he would clearly cut ties to NATO and particularly the US, if he no longer saw them as necessary. According to the pro-government Daily Sabah he appears to be open to friendly relations with the Taliban. Adding them to friendships with other unsavoury governments. Pakistan is clearly happy with the change (and not just the military); to quote The Guardian from last week: 'In Pakistan – long accused of aiding the Afghan Taliban – the prime minister, Imran Khan, said the Taliban had “broken the chains of mental slavery in Afghanistan”. The leader of a key religious political party said the “Taliban has freed their country from superpowers”.'
https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/...in-afghanistan
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...ce-afghanistan
.
Turkey is in the process of modernizing the avionics of 19 C-130Bs and Es which will continue to operate along side its A400Ms and CN-235s.
Erdoğan's policies are about 'Making Turkey Great (and Islamic) Again' and he would clearly cut ties to NATO and particularly the US, if he no longer saw them as necessary. According to the pro-government Daily Sabah he appears to be open to friendly relations with the Taliban. Adding them to friendships with other unsavoury governments. Pakistan is clearly happy with the change (and not just the military); to quote The Guardian from last week: 'In Pakistan – long accused of aiding the Afghan Taliban – the prime minister, Imran Khan, said the Taliban had “broken the chains of mental slavery in Afghanistan”. The leader of a key religious political party said the “Taliban has freed their country from superpowers”.'
https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/...in-afghanistan
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...ce-afghanistan
.
Well the RAF did have a 'gunship' role for the 'K' as I described in the Hercules thread.
Back to the original question of retaining the J - a few years ago I had to host an amiable young lady at one of the OM annual shindigs for local dignitaries. She was from the A400 wing design team at Filton and I asked her about battle damage repair to the composite wing. She said there was none possible and that a single round through the structure would scrap the entire wing. ‘How many spare wings were there?’ I asked. ‘’None’ she said...
So in any future war scenario we might need some alternative Tac AT ac!
So in any future war scenario we might need some alternative Tac AT ac!
Freeman
"he would clearly cut ties to NATO and particularly the US, if he no longer saw them as necessary."
TBH there are quite a few NATO members who would do the same
- it's the "necessary" that keeps them in
TBH there are quite a few NATO members who would do the same
- it's the "necessary" that keeps them in
Around 11pm UK time last night I noticed a RAF C130J leaving Afghanistan over Pakistan. Given that "the final UK troops, diplomats and officials have left Kabul", I wonder if it was the final flight.
Speaking of Hercs in Kabul, the RAAF operated two C-130J's plus two C-17's in there continuously from the get-go and uplifted more than 4000 Australian citizens and others plus we had ~500 Army and ADG's in country. We also operated a KC-30 tanker supporting USAF C-17 ops plus IFR for fighters that provided cover. The RAAF used our two contracted A340's for repatriation flights to Oz