Area Target Marker
 

Isn't that White Phos....sorry White Smoke?:ouch:

The problem with Napalm is that if you get it on you, it stings a little bit. Some lefty decided that was unsportsmanlike and banned it.:D

Googling "Is napalm legal" produced: <<Napalm was banned by United Nations convention in 1980, but the US never signed the agreement. Use of Mark-77 fire bombs is considered legal by the US ...>>

www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/08/08/1060145828249.html

and

The proposed reservation of the United States would revise the legal ... Incendiary agents such as napalm and phosphorus are not considered to be CW agents ...

www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/incendiary-legal.htm

or

The use of firebombs “remarkably similar” to napalm is perfectly “legal”, and the use of white phosphorus as a weapon is totally “legitimate”. ...

www.yirmeyahureview.com/articles/napalm_phosphorus_iraq.htm

Pretty academic if the Air Display Variant can't deploy on ops.

Standing Around
 

Safety Helmut Is it not possible that some wordsmith decided to use the antonym of stand-down?

W2

Wouldn't that be Sit-up?

Why does the AD Typhoon need a gun? Surely it can fire its Meteor BVRAAM shortly after taking off from Binbrooke and destroy the Russian Badger over the Norwegian coast.

Oh sorry - still in the Cold War mode. But the Meteor decision was taken well after the Cold War was ancient history so when are we going to learn?????

N Joe

Sit down Clockwork Mouse.

Deliverance
I make no pretence of understanding air combat but I can't remember either:
a. The last time the RAF sent fighter (well AD) aircraft into a conflict in which we hadn't already established air superiority, or;
b. Having ROE that would allow us to use a BVRAAM.
Having worked on both an (F) sqn and an AT sqn, I know where I would spend the money if they ever let me run the RAF!
N Joe

PS The FIs were before my time - you may wish to enlighten me!

"Having worked on both an (F) sqn and an AT sqn, I know where I would spend the money if they ever let me run the RAF!
N Joe"

Please God they won't. If you read some of Putin's recent speeches you would appreciate that the maintenance of an ability to secure the airspace over UK and combat forces that may threaten the UK is a primary consideration, overriding what many regard as irrelevant interventions abroad. A threat can develop in a year or two. It takes two decades to develop and produce a modern aircraft and associated weapons.

N Joe,

Gulf 1990 the first AD aircraft there we F3. OK, they didn't go in to combat but there was definitely no air superiority had Saddam decided to attack.

One might deduce that their presence has the desired effect of ensuring that the Iraqi forces did not consider an expeditions further south.

Only if they were incapacitated by hysterical laughter.

IIRC the AOC wanted to send F4s, but was overriden for political reasons as we had, of course, sold F3s to the Saudis, and needed to show confidence in them. The story was his response was along the lines of, "you seriously want to send that into a combat zone?"

Sorry been away on leave, but couldn't leave the GR4 undefended, the Mauser has been used in combat......

... and by all accounts the Nav ended up with a Brown Endorsment, as the Front Gunner had neglected to inform his DC that he was going to open up. Apparently the muzzle flash is quite impressive in the dark. Much like what he imagined being shot down by a Roland is like, he told me.

Hmmm and there's me thinking it was the pan full of US F15's and the rather handy Carrier battle group or two cruising around in the Gulf.

F3's demoted to CAP at night only methinks, good radar and jolly quick, but lousy in a turning fight, was the offical reason, provided by some or other Groupie who paid us a visit.

Thanks DownloadDog, I was just asking as I did not hear of the gun being used during the 91 Gulf War, the GR4 certainly does not need defending from my view point I know what it can/has done (except of course the gun bit).

Flatus

Agree with your thoughts on defending Blighty but if that were the only driver, a decent UKADGE/SAM set up would go a long way toward meeting the requirement. I know the arguments about man-in-the-loop but that and arguing the value of a BVRAAM must be mutually exclusive.

The most likely use of AD Typhoon would be to deploy to wherever next conflict arising to cruise around well above all realistic MEZs, achieving little more than a political presence.

N Joe

With education like that, it's no wonder the Army and Navy spend so much time laughing at us!

:hmm:

Deliverance

My point, old bean, in response to your marvellously condescending and patronising post, is that Air Power isn't all about control of the air. It's a doctrinally naive argument at best, but one I would expect to hear from some FJ mates who can't see past the end of their noses.

Not, of course, that I'm suggesting you're a FJ mate, you may just have received the benefits of their education...:hmm:

But surely one so learned as yourself wouldn't have so narrow a viewpoint.;)

I was always led to believe that the opposite of "stand down" was "stand to", not sure where this "stood up" rubbish has come from.