RAF to purchase addditional A400m’s
 

https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/uk-p...port-aircraft/

The original order was for 25 until Airbus ‘renegotiated’ that to 22 for the same price... maybe this is an additional 3 to bring the fleet up to full strength?

There are likely to be spare ac on the production line from those countries that inflated their orders above what they actually required in order to secure a larger share of manufacture...

More A400s? Splendid! RAF Tac AT is saved!

Well possibly......
 

The MOD has always known that withdrawing the C-130J would leave it with insufficient lift. However, it isn't quite this straightforward for a number of reasons:
- The requirement for lift (both strat and tac AT) depends on whether people think that future expeditionary ops are likely, whether the politicians think that tooling up for more (unpopular) expeditionary wars is a 'good look' and whether QEII and PoW are seen as the favourite way of prosecuting such wars. The RAF's Voyager/C17/A400M Air Mobility Force is already pretty impressive when compared to most European air forces so there is potentially not much of a real world justification.
- Other RAF capabilities are looking a bit thin following the latest SDSR round of cuts and probably need more investment than Air Mobility - ie an AEW&C force with more than 3 aircraft.
- Money, as ever. If the UK wanted extra A400Ms for cheap we would buy the Spanish and German cast-offs currently available. However, Dreadnought is going to swallow a large slice of the defence budget over the next decade, the country has borrowed massively over the past 18 months and we probably just don't have the money for more aircraft. Defence inflation will likely make 22 x A400M look sufficiently unaffordable by 2030 without worrying about a bigger fleet.

An existing production line with customers and a manufacturer who will probably be happy to juggle slots probably makes this a good option for end-of-year underspends if such things exist (probably) and if the Treasury allow it (probably not).

Well if we have the cash to spare to buy some soft-roader TacAT aircraft then why not buy something with some capability to plug the gap left next year? Seedcorn some existing operatives and then slide back into some actual Fixed Wing SF capability in a few years?

https://www.lockheedmartin.com/conte...al_Website.pdf

throwaway1: Now you're talking. I've said for the last forty years, the only thing to replace an old Hercules is a newer Hercules

^^^^

Nail. Head. Hammer!

# 5,6,7..You guys had better wash your mouths,or there`ll be,`black vans `outside your doors shortly...! you cannot suggest such `out of the box thinking ` that truckies should have `big guns and missiles`,AAR,and TAC gizmos,fuel tank fire suppression stuff, armour plating...you`ll probably want a L-O Paint job as well,and chinagraph X`s on the windows/HUD,and wear MFD bone-domes...There will be no room for the pies,sarnies,teabags,and bags of IFR Jepp plates...You are treading dangerously into the realms of the `pointies`,and the `head-sheds` will not countenance such thoughts.....Not that they would have thought of it anyway...Can you imagine a Voyager tanking at 1000ft...?
Saxa Vord,or the bombing range on Rockall for you lot...:=:D:ok:

That looks like an ideal solution, but subject to fitting RR engines and Smiths instruments etc.

AV8,..RR AE2100+Dowty fans...

I think you'll find the engines on the C130J series are Allison turbines, which belongs to Rolls Royce.

"That looks like an ideal solution, but subject to fitting RR engines and Smiths instruments etc."

When will we learn that shoehorning new kit into perfectly serviceable aircraft for "political " reasons is a very bad and very expensive mistake?

Phantoms anyone?