Typhoon to go East (Next year?)
 

From The Telegraph:
RAF prepares to use Typhoon in combat

No pressure Coningsby - we know DOT will be a resounding success :rolleyes:

And that's the defence correspondent for the Telegraph??? Grasp of subject akin to MoD PR office.......

I liked the bit about pilots training to fly at up to mach 2 at 100 feet through narrow valleys....

Awesome!

It must be true - I read it in the papers

And the following month we will be deploying Airwolf...:hmm::ugh:

It ain't half going to be noisy in the Lake district and the Welsh valleys while they are practicing. :hmm: :)

Love the way the article mentions Sniper for the Typhoon as well :ugh:.

Slightly confused how they will man the deployment in the longer term though, what with only 2 Typhoon squadrons stood up on the front line as of yet - 17 and 29 are surely going to be busy enough as it is with their own OEU and OCU tasks without sending crews/jets abroad to fight?

If the Harrier guys are overstretched trying to maintain jets there with 3/4 front line squadrons (lets ignore the 800/801/NSW issue for now), how will the Typhoon guys with only 2 squadrons stood up manage?

It's trickier than that - 11 Squadron currently is the only outfit scheduled as Swing-role.

:DAwesome!! See Rafale over Afghanistan: http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums...ghlight=rafale

You have ask yourself, where are the Tornados?

In the print version it gives the armament as Sidewinder, Meteor, Brimstone, Harpoon and Storm Shadow. I make that 0 out of 5 .

> You have ask yourself, where are the Tornados?

I have asked myself, and I don't know, so I'm going to ask you.

Where are the Tornados?

Presumably, they are currently stuck at the end of the runway which I understand isn't suitable for them, which begs the further question:

Where are the bulldozers, trucks of asphalt, and other runway-improving amenities?

Phil

Why are the runways at Bagram etc unsuitable for GR4s while the USAF are operating their F-16s etc from them everyday?

I'm sure you'll find it's not the runway that's the problem. But if you need to ask here, then you probably don't need to know :O

Typhoon replace Harrier????
 

Well that's what it says in the telegraph - Has the MOD been holding out on us - is the Typrune VTOL?

Just a quick question, how can a sqn be stood up on the front line if they're not able to deploy. :hmm:

Judas Priest, who writes these things ? Not that I'd necessarily object to doing mach two down a valley - not until the first turn came up, anyway - but this is quality journalism for an educated readership ?

c-bert : you've blown it now. 49 Para were planning to HALO out of her over the Burj Al Arab and capture UBL before he could get out of his jacuzzi.

Well, of course 3 and 11 could conceivably deploy, I wasn't questioning that :) maybe I should have elaborated. Either squadron could conceivably go out there sometime next year for a bit, that I'm not doubting - rather how viable it would be to maintain a Typhoon commitment there in the long term given current force levels, since I'm guessing guys from these squadrons would like to spend some time at home now and then!

With only 2 front line squadrons to draw aircraft and crews from though, manning an 6-8 aircraft detachment such as that at Kandahar will place a real strain on personnel who (should Typhoon be sent to replace the GR9 at Kandahar permanently) would find themselves spending so much time abroad, even more so than the current JFH folk.

Yes, 11 squadron will probably go in 2008, but I can't see a *sustained* Typhoon deployment as being practical - still too few jets and too few people in front line squadrons, with plenty of other competing priorities (QRA, conversion and evaluation), and whilst things can only get better as more pilots convert and more jets are delivered, I can't see things ramping up quickly enough for things to be drastically better in only a years time.

The cynic in me expects a quick deployment, lots of publicity (which looks good for the government who spent so much on Typhoon, looks good for the RAF in as much as the service can be seen to be using its new wonderplane, and looks good for BAE who gets to put 'combat proven' in the sales brochures...) then the Harrier boys continue to take the strain afterwards until we get a few more Typhoon squadrons up to speed.

All IMHO :)

Commence lantern swinging.......

Come and have a chat with the SH force we'll give you some ideas, we've been doing it for years!:)

Good luck to the guys and gals of TF Typh, it'll be great to actually seeing the jet doing the job - as long as you're ready to do it and not pushed early to achieve some misguided PR quick win.

:ok:

From the Telegraph article...

As long as they can find the target! XI Squadron couldn't even find their Standard presentation parade at RAF Coningsby! Still Tattershall Castle deserved another fly-past since the Tornado F3s did the last AOC's BVR flypast back in the 90s :ok:

Maybe the Taleban will hole up in a Tattershall Castle mock-up? :E

LJ

LJ

You weren't, by any chance, an F3 navigator at RAF Coningsby at the time of the Tattershall Castle debacle were you? It's just that your comments appear to be lashed with all the venom of an AD 'directional consultant' humiliated, either by association, or by the fact that you weren't chosen to lead the flypast in question. Whatever else is wrong with Typhoon, at least Betty / Nora shuts up when the Battery Master is turned off at the end of a sortie . . .

:D

DefenseNews: First Block 5 Typhoons Arrive at U.K. Squadron’s Base

The United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force (RAF) has taken delivery of the first two Typhoon multirole aircraft with an air-to-ground capability. The aircraft were flown to Coningsby air base Aug. 6 for pilot training.

The RAF’s XI Squadron, the lead unit for Typhoons in the ground attack role, is expected to declare operational capability in July 2008. Following that, the British are expected to deploy the aircraft to Afghanistan to replace Harrier GR9 aircraft now supporting NATO operations in the south of the country.

The aircraft delivered to XI Squadron are the first RAF aircraft upgraded to what is known as the Block 5 standard. The aircraft have improved handling and systems, and new defensive and offensive capabilities.

The Typhoon’s initial ground-attack capability allows it to carry the Brimstone anti-tank missile and the Enhanced Paveway II precision-guided bomb. Enhanced Paveway allows the pilot to aim the bomb using either global positioning or laser designation The aircraft continues to carry a range of air-to-air weapons. Part of the upgrade includes improved GPS guidance.

The first trial dropping of the Enhanced Paveway using a laser designator took place Aug. 7.

A BAE spokesman said a laser designator has not been selected for the Block 5 aircraft, and the company continues to consider its options ahead of contracting for a system to be fitted before Typhoon deploys for operations.

The company declined to name the laser-designator supplier for the Aug. 7 trial.

Further enhancements to the Typhoon’s air-to-ground weapons and systems are being developed as part of the Tranche 2 order from Typhoon partners Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain.