Reds Using F Mil Transports
 

Noticed this on another site, is this not a bit embarrassing.
11x Red Arrows depart Scampton at 10.00 am on 25 / 3 / 09 for Greece and stay for a week to carry on work up there & then April 3rd fly onto Cyprus not coming back to Scampton until week before Southend Air Show, also a C160 with all their gear on board wiil depart too. believe it is now 2 C160's

Been doing that for years. We'd be able to do it if all our aircraft weren't all tied up on ops. If NATO could spare some of the aircraft it uses to move the Reds around then we'd be able to do it ourselves. They don't, so we can't.

So where do the priorities lie then????????:ugh:

On ops, where all our aircraft are...... :hmm:

SS,

Unless that is a very dull Wah........ you missed the point. Justify the REDs in these times, or any of the display teams:rolleyes:

It wasn't a particularly well made point. :hmm:

The Reds Yes/No argument has been done a million times on here and in various crewrooms and, as far as I'm aware, has done little/nothing to affect what actually happens to them. If you're asking me, an AT person, where the RAF's priorities lie I couldn't really say. I can however guarantee you that it ain't with our battered, tattered, knackered and p*ssed off corner of the air force.

:ok:

The Swedes were moving the Reds support about last year.

Isn't this all part of of the pooled NATO airlift capability thingy wotsit ie if you have a spare cab you can chuck it into NATO's garden and others can play with it?

Would now be a good time to ask about the display teams at Coningsby? :E

Why not get BBMF's Dak to move them about?;)

Last year it was a Swedish Air Force C-130 that provided support. Why not?

It makes perfect sense to use the pooling system. Not every European nation is as heavily committed as the UK to operational theatres. Such pooling, as with the German C-160s used, frees up an RAF C-130 and its crew to concentrate on training for, or utilisation for overseas missions.

It is going to be the way of the future with many EU nations joining the European Air Transport Fleet in the next decade. If you have surplus lift sitting within either NATO, Partnership for Peace, or EU agreements then make full use of it. IMHO.

I didn't catch the C-160s, but caught the first wave of Reds as they departed.

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h2...DARROWSRAF.jpg

TJ

KPAX,

Why should if be embarrassing? The European Airlift Centre at Eindhoven has been coordinating such tasking between nations for quite some time. If any of the nations who are signed up to the scheme have spare airlift capacity, they declare it to the Centre and it is allocated as required.

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meetdo...heeteac_en.pdf

tells you more.

Makes sense to me.

Green Flash - Since when were the Swedes part of NATO?

Agreed. However methinks they are as close to NATO as you can get without actually being in it. I worked with Swedes (hello Emma!) and Finns at KAIA a while ago. And they've lent us a Gripen to play with! I think they are part of the EAC whilst not being full NATO. Happy to have them along.:ok:

I believe that the standard unit of currency at EAC is 1xC130 flying hour. AAR assets achieve quite a good "exchange rate", so a trail for the Spanish or Italians using UK tankers can put quite a number of C-130 or equivalent hours in the pot for the UK to then use on non-operational tasking, such as RAFAT support.

Teej,

Nice picture of the barrier - shame about the loose and shaggy echelon spoiling the frame.

Hmmm - I can just see the Blue Angels support being moved about in some other nation's cargo aircraft.....

NOT.

Since the Reds are vastly more skilled than the Blue Angels, shouldn't they really have their own shiny red C-130J to take their kit around.

With Stoppers at the helm in a nice red romper suit? Or maybe not - there might be an adverse hair/suit chromaclasm.

Flap62,

Thanks. :) In their defence there was one hell of a cross wind!

-------

In answer to Sweden's relationship with NATO. They are part of NATO's Partnership for Peace.

Delegation of Sweden to NATO - Sweden's cooperation with NATO

TJ

Very funny.... tee hee