Missiles on blocks of flats for Olympics
 

How are they going to put them there ??

Underslung load from a Chinook ??:confused:

Carry them up the stairs or use a lift! See images at Daily Mail link. It is the Starstreak High Velocity Missile that is on the rooftops.

Olympic security: London's green space transformed by anti-aircraft guns for Olympic ring of steel | Mail Online

Starstreak High Velocity Missile - British Army Website

Ok fine I get all of that, but on this image

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/...23_964x668.jpg

You are surrounded by a wall a couple of feet away and all the films I saw of the launch a chuffing great flame comes out the arse end of those tubes when it fires... Surely you would not want a wall the redirect that back at the operators?

Call me old fashioned but it all looks a bit Heath Robinson, is the thing so poorly weighted you have to chuck sandbags on the base to increase the stability of it? I take it the wooden base it to spread the weight? Also I bet they are really screwing up some guys TV picture, let alone it reducing their coverage :E

Lets hope no-one nearby is using their mobile phone when they launch it, that could really make a mess of somebody's day ;)

Hmmm...
Oh really, how's about the post-war (WW2) IGLOO scheme designed to protect our fair and pleasent land? Some journo's really need their arris's kicking IMHO.

More info at these links:
A brief Late/post WW2 A.A. history

Typical IGLOO HAA sites --> Worms Heath Igloo 2 H.A.A. Battery, Warlingham: Aug 2011 - Derelict Places

http://derelictmisc.org.uk/igloo2.html

Subterranea Britannica: Research Study Group: Sites: Penketh 3.7" Heavy Anti Aircraft Battery

*sarcasm on* God forbid those guys on the roof are professionals who know what they are doing.........:rolleyes: *sarcasm off*

I used to work at one of those sites - where the Emplacement blocks and gun mounting plates are still visible and the ammo lockers are still intact (lights working) and earth covered.

The 50's control center (GDOC?) for North London is still there too - A concrete theatre, in similar form to the WW2 Ops buildings, with a viewing gallery.
A spooky place to visit when you know what it was supposed to do.

We use to bimble from one farce to the next, everyone else used to think we knew what we were doing, have things changed?

Wasn't it the IRA that launched a rocket from a car without opening the other windows? Resulting in a toasted operator.

Starstreaks' plume isn't that big, see here...

http://media.defenseindustrydaily.co..._Launch_lg.jpg

The missile fires its first rocket motor, which launches the missile but burns out before leaving the tube to protect the operator. Only once the missile is a safe distance from the operator the second motor fires, which rapidly accelerates the missile to burn out velocity of M3.5 some 400m away from the soldier. There is no warhead to speak of (~500grams), it is a "hit-tile". All in all, it is probably ideally suited to urban ops as it has little plume on the ground, no warhead and the small darts are the only thing that will do any real damage - they probably wouldn't drop a building but they would give you a "haircut" if they landed on you!!!

LJ

PS. i forgot to mention that the darts self destruct as they reach max range. So unless there is a guidance fail, there is little chance of serious collateral.

The ultimate?
 

I feel that I am missing something here. Before anyone who knows me says "You silly old geriatric f**t!" I agree! However, who is the person who is going to order a firing (or Typhoon intercept.) at/of a hi-jacked airliner over London? I am confused!! (Unless it is targetted over Westminster!):confused::confused::confused::confused:

What ever you take down over London is going to make a mess wherever it lands... and sad to say if you are having to take it out over London you have already lost.. As said it does not have to hit any venue, Olympics and London are tantamount to the same thing in the worlds eyes, "Ohhh we took an Aircraft down it never reached any Olympic venue but crashed in Oxford Street killing XYZ people" will not wash.... To little to late.

The Prime Minister. It's in his TORs.

Thank you for your affirmation that I, too, am not a f****it, because it had also occurred to me that this whole missile system is the modern-day equivalent of a gorilla beating its chest, or a Zulu banging his shield: that is, utterly pointless.

Even allowing for the event of a hi-jacked 757 being pointed at Westminster or that dreadful McDonalds at the Olympic village, or the Olympics, shooting it down will achieve what exactly?

Interesting re the PM.

They delegated the fire command to one of the AVM's in Australia (edit - or his deputy) for at least one of the events covered by air force jets.

The population density of a stadium is a lot greater than some random part of central London.

It comes down to a numbers game. You shoot the aircraft down before it reaches the stadium and perhaps 2,000-people are killed/injured. If it hits the stadium then you're looking at 20,000-people.

That said, the people in the stadium are choosing to be there despite knowing it is a potential target...

Safest place to be would be the block of flats, I guess ....

How do you know it'll hit this big lush target then?

The only possible use for these missiles is to shoot down a very small 'plane - one man type thing.

Anything else is bollix.

:DPlus, if it misses the stadium (where the fatcats are) but hits the surrounding suburbs (lower socioeconomic group, as I understand it) then no probs.

A short hysteria in the red banners, then on to Spain's forthcoming default.

Dear me! We love to ridicule journos for their dimness and lack of understanding but that doesn't prevent some of out members eclipsing that a hundredfold does it?

Surely, surely even dimmest amongst us can see that what that achieves is in the ultimate event it drops a pile of wreckage somewhere, anywhere, where it cannot do a thousandth of the damage that it would if plunged into the Olympic Stadium killing 50,000 or wiping out the House of Commons (I'll refrain from the witless sarcasm that is bound to follow that statement).

For those without a sense of proportion it is called "Damage Limitation" and given the threat it would be criminally irresponsible not to take such a precaution.

:ugh:

Maybe it's about control.
'We' get to decide where the plane goes down rather than the 'terrorist'
thus thwarting their plans