Fuerza Aérea del Reino Unido

[And...]

RAF announces new Reaper squadron

A new Reaper squadron is to form at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire which will control the aircraft over Afghanistan from the UK for the first time.



http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/Defen ... uadron.htm

[And...]

At a NATO Defence Ministers meeting in Brussels yesterday, the UK's Defence Secretary Dr Liam Fox highlighted the progress being made in Libya and NATO's involvement in the country post-conflict.





participación británica en Libia.

[And...]

La RAF en Italia, se ve que los typhoon también ya tiraron lo suyo en Libia :8):



que chimba los misiles crucero Storn Shadow de la RAF, tienen un alcance de Aprox 300 km.[/img]

[Mauricio]

La guinda en la torta...

RAF strips jets for spare parts: Typhoons torn up for Libya air fleet

By Ian Drury

Last updated at 11:29 AM on 16th June 2011

The RAF is tearing apart state-of-the-art fighter jets for spare parts to keep warplanes flying over Libya.

Three Typhoons, costing £125million each, are being cannibalised at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire to cover a desperate shortage of parts.
Eight Typhoons are taking part in bombing raids and enforcing the no-fly zone over Libya. The jets also patrol the Falkland Islands and provide the Quick Reaction Alert force protecting UK airspace.

But to save money, air chiefs did not order enough spare parts for the warplanes when they came into service two years ago.

This means three jets had to be grounded in March so RAF technicians could raid them to keep the maximum number of Typhoons in the air.

Conservative MP Chris Heaton-Harris, who asked a series of parliamentary questions about the jets, said: ‘It is a disgraceful waste of taxpayers’ money to have £375 million sitting in the RAF equivalent of a salvage yard providing spares to keep other planes in the air.’

‘Spares should have been easily sourced and in the original contract.’

‘The RAF needs to shake itself out of this Steptoe and Son mentality and sort out its logistics problems once and for all – and ministers should be leading this process.’

Shadow defence secretary Jim Murphy said: ‘It is vital that the MoD gets a grip on procurement.

‘When our brave forces are in action overseas people will be dismayed that millions of taxpayers’ pounds are being wasted on aircraft that aren’t in action.’

Commander Nigel ‘Sharkey’ Ward, decorated for flying Harrier jump jets during the Falklands war, said: ‘The Typhoon is an astronomically expensive aircraft that is ill-suited to any role outside UK airspace.

‘It is essentially a very expensive RAF sacred cow.’

The Public Accounts Committee, the House of Commons spending watchdog, said the decision to ground some of the world’s most advanced jets was ‘questionable’.

The Ministry of Defence believes the problem will continue until 2015, when sufficient components should be in stock.

Retired Air Commodore Andrew Lambert said the practice of raiding aircraft for spare parts was ‘neither new nor unusual’.

These planes, dubbed ‘Christmas trees’ by mechanics, were usually undergoing a six-month overhaul so it made sense to strip them of parts if another jet urgently needed one.

‘If you are saying is it better to have spares so you don’t have to cannibalise a plane, then probably yes,’ he said.

‘But there is not an awful lot of money in the defence budget to do this. If you have to rob Peter to refit Paul, then you get on and do it.’

RAF sources said equipment was often taken off a plane as soon as it came into service and fitted to another jet in the operating fleet.

Defence equipment minister Peter Luff said: ‘This is a routine measure. None of these aircraft was in the forward fleet.’

The shortage of spare parts means some Typhoon pilots are grounded because they can’t put in enough flying hours to remain battle ready.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z1PSeuDuaM

[vet327]

Si empiezas a hacer como Iris vamos mal

[Urbano Calleja]

Triste... muy triste...

[And...]

La guinda en la torta...

RAF strips jets for spare parts: Typhoons torn up for Libya air fleet

By Ian Drury

Last updated at 11:29 AM on 16th June 2011

The RAF is tearing apart state-of-the-art fighter jets for spare parts to keep warplanes flying over Libya.

Three Typhoons, costing £125million each, are being cannibalised at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire to cover a desperate shortage of parts.
Eight Typhoons are taking part in bombing raids and enforcing the no-fly zone over Libya. The jets also patrol the Falkland Islands and provide the Quick Reaction Alert force protecting UK airspace.

But to save money, air chiefs did not order enough spare parts for the warplanes when they came into service two years ago.

This means three jets had to be grounded in March so RAF technicians could raid them to keep the maximum number of Typhoons in the air.

Conservative MP Chris Heaton-Harris, who asked a series of parliamentary questions about the jets, said: ‘It is a disgraceful waste of taxpayers’ money to have £375 million sitting in the RAF equivalent of a salvage yard providing spares to keep other planes in the air.’

‘Spares should have been easily sourced and in the original contract.’

‘The RAF needs to shake itself out of this Steptoe and Son mentality and sort out its logistics problems once and for all – and ministers should be leading this process.’

Shadow defence secretary Jim Murphy said: ‘It is vital that the MoD gets a grip on procurement.

‘When our brave forces are in action overseas people will be dismayed that millions of taxpayers’ pounds are being wasted on aircraft that aren’t in action.’

Commander Nigel ‘Sharkey’ Ward, decorated for flying Harrier jump jets during the Falklands war, said: ‘The Typhoon is an astronomically expensive aircraft that is ill-suited to any role outside UK airspace.

‘It is essentially a very expensive RAF sacred cow.’

The Public Accounts Committee, the House of Commons spending watchdog, said the decision to ground some of the world’s most advanced jets was ‘questionable’.

The Ministry of Defence believes the problem will continue until 2015, when sufficient components should be in stock.

Retired Air Commodore Andrew Lambert said the practice of raiding aircraft for spare parts was ‘neither new nor unusual’.

These planes, dubbed ‘Christmas trees’ by mechanics, were usually undergoing a six-month overhaul so it made sense to strip them of parts if another jet urgently needed one.

‘If you are saying is it better to have spares so you don’t have to cannibalise a plane, then probably yes,’ he said.

‘But there is not an awful lot of money in the defence budget to do this. If you have to rob Peter to refit Paul, then you get on and do it.’

RAF sources said equipment was often taken off a plane as soon as it came into service and fitted to another jet in the operating fleet.

Defence equipment minister Peter Luff said: ‘This is a routine measure. None of these aircraft was in the forward fleet.’

The shortage of spare parts means some Typhoon pilots are grounded because they can’t put in enough flying hours to remain battle ready.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z1PSeuDuaM

bastante mal, más cuando los periodistas hablan de lo que saben, cuando se refieren precisamente al sector defensa.

Por eso prefiero la información oficial, es decir, la que es presentada ante el parlamento británico, porque si fuera por las noticias la OTAN ya no tiene armamento por las operaciones en Libia y no se cuantas babosadas....

[Mauricio]

bastante mal, más cuando los periodistas hablan de lo que saben, cuando se refieren precisamente al sector defensa.

Por eso prefiero la información oficial, es decir, la que es presentada ante el parlamento británico, porque si fuera por las noticias la OTAN ya no tiene armamento por las operaciones en Libia y no se cuantas babosadas....

Del órgano de contraloría del Gobierno (National Accounting Office - NAO), reporte NAO HC 755, Marzo 2011:

Problems with spares availability and flying hours must be addressed if Typhoon capability is to be fully utilised

7. The problems with spares have been a contributor to the Department’s inability to meet its target for annual flying hours, with a 13 per cent shortfall in 2009-10. As a result, the Department has limited pilot training to maintaining Typhoon’s primary role of air defence at the expense of training in more complex tasks. For example, between November 2009 and August 2010, an average of 15 per cent of pilots had sufficient training hours to perform tasks beyond air defence. While this is sufficient at present it will not be so in future. The Department’s recently announced plan to accelerate the growth of RAF squadrons that fly Typhoon is likely to increase demand for pilots and place additional strains on the supply of spares. By 2016, the Department aims to deliver sufficient flying hours to train enough pilots to undertake the full range of planned tasks.

Página 6 para más señas.

Blanco y en botella chatín, para que te sigas cayendo a mojones acerca de lo que pasa en la RAF.

http://www.nao.org.uk/publications/1011 ... oject.aspx

[Orel .]

Como dije en otro hilo, es una pena para la RAF.
Pero siempre queda esperanza y en este caso es que no se puede decir que el Typhoon le sea inútil a la RAF o estén inactivos precisamente. Del mismo artículo:

Eight Typhoons are taking part in bombing raids and enforcing the no-fly zone over Libya. The jets also patrol the Falkland Islands and provide the Quick Reaction Alert force protecting UK airspace.

[And...]

bastante mal, más cuando los periodistas hablan de lo que saben, cuando se refieren precisamente al sector defensa.

Por eso prefiero la información oficial, es decir, la que es presentada ante el parlamento británico, porque si fuera por las noticias la OTAN ya no tiene armamento por las operaciones en Libia y no se cuantas babosadas....

Del órgano de contraloría del Gobierno (National Accounting Office - NAO), reporte NAO HC 755, Marzo 2011:

Problems with spares availability and flying hours must be addressed if Typhoon capability is to be fully utilised

7. The problems with spares have been a contributor to the Department’s inability to meet its target for annual flying hours, with a 13 per cent shortfall in 2009-10. As a result, the Department has limited pilot training to maintaining Typhoon’s primary role of air defence at the expense of training in more complex tasks. For example, between November 2009 and August 2010, an average of 15 per cent of pilots had sufficient training hours to perform tasks beyond air defence. While this is sufficient at present it will not be so in future. The Department’s recently announced plan to accelerate the growth of RAF squadrons that fly Typhoon is likely to increase demand for pilots and place additional strains on the supply of spares. By 2016, the Department aims to deliver sufficient flying hours to train enough pilots to undertake the full range of planned tasks.

Página 6 para más señas.

Blanco y en botella chatín, para que te sigas cayendo a mojones acerca de lo que pasa en la RAF.

http://www.nao.org.uk/publications/1011 ... oject.aspx

BAE Systems has been awarded long term contracts worth a total of £39m by the UK’s Ministry of Defence (MOD) to provide support services to ensure that Typhoon continues to maintain its ability to operate in all types of environments.

BAE Systems also takes a major role in ensuring the availability of the Typhoon fleet to meet its standing and operational commitments. The contract, known as Typhoon Availability Service (TAS) aims to deliver best practice support solutions. The arrangement will see the RAF’s Typhoon aircraft maintained and supported by the Company until the end of 2013.
A key requirement underpinning TAS is to drive the, reduction of Typhoon support costs over the lifetime of the jet. Working in partnership with the RAF and UK MOD, a range of innovative support solutions has been identified to maximise value and minimise costs.
Although BAE Systems have had a presence at RAF Coningsby, in Lincolnshire, since 2004, the Typhoon Availability contract has expanded the BAE Systems population at the base to over 400 employees.

http://www.defencetalk.com/bae-systems- ... z1NEMpGFSI

[ecuatoriano]

Una nota sobre el accidente del piloto de los Red Arrows.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/ne ... s-ace.html

[alejandro_]

Carlo Kopp tiene un interesante artículo sobre el EF-2000 donde comenta la furtividad del mismo:

The assertion that the aircraft has a “stealth” capability is curious by any measure, since there is no evidence of planform alignment, panel edge alignment, blending or faceting, all established techniques used and proven on US types such as the F-117A, B-2A, YF-23A, F-22A and the JSF prototypes. Indeed the external carriage of stores alone would make the Typhoon's radar signature at least 10-100 times greater than the golfball to insect sized RCS we are accustomed to with US types. Unless the Europeans have invented new laws of radar scattering, the aircraft is at best a conventional fighter with reduced forward sector RCS, comparable to evolved F/A-18, F-16 variants, the Rafale or the B-1B.

The benefits of such limited RCS reduction are marginal, since the detection range curve is fairly steep in this region and modest increases in opposing radar performance can largely offset any gains in such RCS reduction. While every dBSM down is useful, beyond 0.3 of a square metre the payoff is questionable with external stores being carried. Moreover, unless an LPI radar is carried, the emissions of the radar will betray the fighter to an opponent from well outside radar range.

http://www.ausairpower.net/Analysis-Typhoon.html

Saludos.

[Orel .]

Ah, nuestro amigo Carlo Kopp, Don "Sólo sirven para algo el Raptor y los derivados de Su-27, siendo ambos temibles".

The assertion that the aircraft has a “stealth” capability is curious by any measure, since there is no evidence of...
...
Unless the Europeans have invented new laws of radar scattering, the aircraft is at best a conventional fighter with reduced forward sector RCS, comparable to evolved F/A-18, F-16 variants, the Rafale or the B-1B.

Este tío se inventa cosas. En ningún momento se ha dicho que el EFA sea furtivo, si no que se encuentra entre los más furtivos de los que no lo son, semejante al SuperHornet. Y su furtividad sí está en rango de Rhino y de Rafale (oficialmente), pero dista mucho del concepto de los Viper, que fue añadir parches mucho después de su diseño y fabricación. Mientras que SH, EFA y Rafale los integran desde diseño. Y el B-1B ahí le anda, ya que fue diseñado como B-1A, "nada furtivo".

The benefits of such limited RCS reduction are marginal

Qué curioso que esa idea suya la contradice el hecho de las grandes sumas de dinero que todo Dios (todo país, toda industria) está invirtiendo en aplicar medidas de "furtivismo" a sus cazas. Todos tontos, claro, porque si la mejora es marginal... Qué tío, el Kopp

Bye

[bentexui]

Claro carajo, como no te gusta que ponga al EFA a parir, el señor Carlo Kopp es un cortito de mente...

Como si el EFA fuese la estrella de la muerte

[alejandro_]

Supongo que no habrás leido la siguiente línea:

While every dBSM down is useful, beyond 0.3 of a square metre the payoff is questionable with external stores being carried.

Mientras que todo dBSM hacia abajo es útil, más alla de 0.3m2 el beneficio es cuestionable con una carga externa.

Que es a lo que vamos, con carga externa el beneficio de un parche o retoque es dudoso.

Saludos.