Royal Air Force .....

[TT-1 Pinto]

Visto che, stranamente, non esisteva ancora una specifica discussione dedicata alla RAF .... mi permetto di aprirla ora con questa notizia ....

 

Una grandinata costata molto cara .... ovvero ....

 

UK reveals repair bill after Afghan hailstorm ....

 

The total cost of repairing five Royal Air Force Lockheed Martin C-130J tactical transports which suffered significant airframe damage when a hailstorm passed through southern Afghanistan on 23 April 2013 has been revealed as almost £10 million ($16.6 million).

Parked at Kandahar airfield when the storm hit, the C-130Js each experienced an average of 2,000 individual impacts during the event, with damage sustained to their upper fuselages and flight control surfaces.

Multiple other coalition aircraft were also affected at the same location.

 

Fonte .... http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/uk-reveals-repair-bill-after-afghan-hailstorm-395150/

 

Alle origini della notizia ....

 

".... hailstones some bigger than golf balls ...." .... http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/site/?pageid=event_desc&edis_id=HS-20130425-38987-AFG

 

 

"Operation Weatherman - Saving the RAF's C-130Js" .... http://www.aviationweek.com/Blogs.aspx?plckPostId=Blog:27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7Post:f13bf46c-e89f-4cfb-9d76-5eb791aacb7d

 

"UK still assessing cost of Afghan hail damage" .... http://www.janes.com/article/30992/uk-still-assessing-cost-of-afghan-hail-damage

 

 

[TT-1 Pinto]

Immagini dei C-130J della RAF .... "mitragliati" dalla grandine ....

 

"All hail J!" .... http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/the-dewline/2014/01/hail-j/

[TT-1 Pinto]

Anche AW&ST parla della terribile grandinata ....

 

A once-in-a-century hailstorm took a heavy toll on the availability of airpower to support troops on the ground in Afghanistan.

 

"Afghan Hailstorm Affects Coalition Air Campaign" .... http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.aspx?id=/article-xml/AW_01_27_2014_p38-654132.xml

 

[TT-1 Pinto]

La RAF mette temporaneamente a terra le sue nuove aviocisterne ....

 

"RAF pauses Voyager operations after in-flight incident" .... http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/raf-pauses-voyager-operations-after-in-flight-incident-395915/

 

 

[TT-1 Pinto]

I Tifoni (tranche 2) della RAF superano la prova ....

 

"Tranche 2 Typhoons pass Red Flag test" .... http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/tranche-2-typhoons-pass-red-flag-test-396149/

 

"Royal Air Force Concludes Participation In Red Flag" .... http://www.raf.mod.uk/news/archive/royal-air-force-concludes-participation-in-red-flag-14022014

[TT-1 Pinto]

Continua il ritiro dei Tornado ....

 

"RAF retires two Tornado squadrons" .... http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/raf-retires-two-tornado-squadrons-397605/

 

Royal Air Force .... "Final Salute for Historic RAF Squadrons" .... http://www.raf.mod.uk/news/archive/final-salute-for-historic-raf-squadrons-28032014

 

 

 

The good news is that the Dambusters will not be forgotten – they will reform in 2018 as the RAF’s first Lightning II Squadron ....

 

 

[TT-1 Pinto]

Il problema dei pattugliatori navali .... o meglio .... della loro attuale mancanza ....

 

"How will the UK fill its MPA gap?" .... http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/the-dewline/2014/04/will-uk-fill-mpa-gap/

[TT-1 Pinto]

Interessante articolo di FlightGlobal.com sulle prospettive della RAF in vista dell'imminente pubblicazione della Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) .....

 

"ANALYSIS: UK combat air future hinges on SDSR decisions" ..... https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/analysis-uk-combat-air-future-hinges-on-sdsr-decisi-416276/

 

E' sufficiente registrarsi al sito per poterlo leggere nella sua interezza .....

[TT-1 Pinto]

In attesa della nuova 'Defence Review' ..... le domande sono ancora molte ..... specialmente dopo i problemi causati dalla precedente .....

 

Collective jaws dropped five years ago, when the then-coalition government unveiled the findings of its Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR).

Against a backdrop of financial austerity, this forced an early demise for the BAE Systems Harrier GR9/9A ground-attack aircraft, and axed BAE’s Nimrod MRA4, relegating an island nation’s maritime patrol aircraft capability to a “nice-to-have”.

It also contained a baffling, and ultimately short-lived, proposal to make a late switch from the short take-off and vertical landing version of Lockheed Martin’s Joint Strike Fighter to the carrier-variant F-35C.

Fonte ..... "OPINION: What to expect from UK defence review" ..... https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/opinion-what-to-expect-from-uk-defence-review-416402/

[TT-1 Pinto]

Il SAR della RAF ..... fine di un'era .....

 

Britain no longer has rescue cover from the Royal Air Force.

More than 74 years of history has come to an end with the closure of the last RAF Search and Rescue (SAR) base in the UK.

RMB Chivenor in Devon was the last of six RAF Search and Rescue Stations to close.

The Chivenor duty search and rescue crew was formally relieved from its standby commitment by the United Kingdom Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre last week.

Fonte ..... "End Of An Era For RAF Search And Rescue" ..... http://forces.tv/61458167

[TT-1 Pinto]

Una duchessa fra i cadetti .....

 

 

"Kate's badge of honour: The Duchess of Cambridge dazzles in prestigious diamond Dacre brooch to mark the 75th anniversary of the RAF Air Cadets" .....

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3435752/Kate-s-flying-high-Duchess-Cambridge-steps-pale-blue-Alexander-McQueen-marks-75th-anniversary-RAF-Air-Cadets.html

 

RAF ... "HRH Launches Air Cadets' 75th Anniversary" ..... http://www.raf.mod.uk/news/archive/hrh-launches-air-cadets-75th-anniversary-07022016

 

 

 

 

[Flaggy]

Contromisure derivate dal BriteCloud nel futuro RAF.

 

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/leonardo-partners-with-raf-for-third-generation-coun-437027/

[TT-1 Pinto]

Qualche ulteriore dettaglio da Leonardo ... http://www.leonardocompany.com/-/idef-britecloud ...

[zander]

Buon compleanno Royal Air Force!

Ieri la RAF, 1° aprile 2018, ha compiuto i suoi primi cento anni.

 

https://www.raf.mod.uk/raf100/

 

https://www.raf.mod.uk/raf100/timeline/

[TT-1 Pinto]

Il leggendario 617 Sqn rinasce ufficialmente come reparto misto (RAF & RN) su F-35B ...

The Royal Air Force's 617 Sqn – the UK's first frontline unit to field the Lockheed Martin F-35B – has been officially re-formed during a ceremony in Washington DC.

Staffed by a mix of RAF and Royal Navy pilots and support personnel, lead elements of 617 Sqn are currently involved in training at MCAS Beaufort in South Carolina, using the UK's current 15 short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) Lightning IIs.

The Ministry of Defence (*) says the UK's first F-35Bs will arrive at the type's home base at RAF Marham in Norfolk "this summer", with the service having previously outlined plans to transfer nine jets from the USA with support from Airbus Defence & Space A330 Voyager tanker/transports.

Fonte: flightglobal.com ... UK re-forms 617 Sqn for F-35B era ...

(*) ...RAF’s legendary Dambusters squadron reforms to fly F-35 jets ...

[TT-1 Pinto]

 

The Band Of The RAF Regiment, supported RAF Halton as they provided a Guard of Honour for the RAF 100 Commemoration Church Service in the nearby town of Chesham ...

[TT-1 Pinto]

Quattro F-35B in volo in direzione del Regno Unito ...

 

https://twitter.com/RoyalAirForce/status/1004380137088004096

[TT-1 Pinto]

Quattro F-35B in volo in direzione del Regno Unito ...

 

https://twitter.com/RoyalAirForce/status/1004380137088004096

 

Arrivati !

 

 

https://twitter.com/DefenceHQ/status/1004441966535434240

[TT-1 Pinto]

Ulteriori dettagli sul trasferimento nel Regno Unito dei primi quattro F-35B .....

... ainonline.com ... British F-35Bs Transfer to the UK ...

[TT-1 Pinto]

La RAF in volo su Londra per celebrare i suoi primi 100 anni ...

https://www.raf.mod.uk/news/articles/raf100-10th-july-parade-and-flypast-in-central-london/

 

[TT-1 Pinto]

Regno Unito ... ed ora sono nove ...

Quote

 

Five More F-35s Arrive in UK ...

A second batch of Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighters for Britain has made the transatlantic crossing to begin flight operations from their permanent UK base at Marham, England.
The five F-35s touched down after dusk at Marham on Aug. 3, joining the four aircraft that arrived in June to support the UK Royal Air Force’s (RAF) centenary celebrations with flybys over London and two major airshows, including the Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford. 
The nine jets will be operated by 617 Sqdn., the first UK F-35 frontline unit.
Britain’s fleet of F-35s now stands at 15 - with nine in the UK and six in the U.S. 
Of the latter, two are posted with 17 Sqdn., a test-and-evaluation unit at Edwards AFB, California, and four with the Marine Corps pilot training unit VMFAT-501 at Beaufort, South Carolina. 
These aircraft are expected to fly to the UK in 2019 to form 207 Sqdn., which will become the UK’s F-35 training unit.

The next set of five F-35s arrive at the UK’s Royal Air Force Marham air base. 
Credit: RAF

The five F-35s were escorted across the Atlantic by RAF Airbus A330 Voyager Multi-Role Tanker Transport aircraft, taking a similar route as the first four did in June, heading out from Beaufort along the Eastern Seaboard and out to Newfoundland before crossing directly to the UK. 
In June, the aircraft refueled nine times during the crossing.
Questions remain about the sluggish pace of flight operations since the F-35s first arrived in the UK. 
So far, there have only been a handful of flights, mainly to support flybys and airshow appearances. 
The UK Ministry of Defense announced on July 25 (*) that the F-35s had begun making use of several new concrete vertical landing pads - 67 m (220 ft.) by 67 m wide - constructed for the aircraft at Marham to support vertical landing training. 
According to the defense ministry, engineers had to source special materials from Germany to produce a concrete strong enough to stand up to the high temperatures associated with the exhaust from the F-35 during vertical landing operations.
“This was the first time this material has been used outside the U.S. and required a rigorous testing process to ensure the landing pads were fit for the purpose,” defense officials stated.

- Tony Osborne, London (AW&ST - Aug. 9, 2018)

 

(*) ... gov.uk/government/news ... F-35 jets use new vertical landing pads at RAF Marham for the first time ...

[engine]

Così si fa ...

http://www.ilgiornale.it/news/cronache/e-regno-unito-arma-i-confini-navi-e-voli-militari-anti-1623930.html

.... che l' italietta prenda nota .

[Flaggy]

L'Italietta dovrebbe prender nota anche del fatto che l'articolo è presentato in modo discutibile con una foto di un Tornado che certo non farà molto contro i migranti.

L'idea del pugno duro dato dall'utilizzo di mezzi militari è più ad uso e consumo del volgo visto che il problema è complesso e delicato.

La RAF al massimo può pattugliare e la Royal Navy al massimo può intercettare qualche barca di trafficanti il cui fenomeno è in aumento, ma comunque tutto ciò non serve a nulla contro i migranti che si nascondono su treni e traghetti come a poco serve il muro "alla Trump" che pensano di fare a Calais, visto che molti si nascondono sui camion prima di arrivarci.

[engine]

L' immagine del Tornado è ovviamente di repertorio e può avere un significato simbolico .

Quello che pesa è la determinazione del loro governo ad agire .

Come off- topic e poi chiudo, un esempio più " vicino " a noi : 

http://www.ilgiornale.it/news/mondo/germania-nuove-violenze-commesse-richiedenti-asilo-ed-1623859.html

Modificato 3 Gennaio 2019 da engine

[Flaggy]

Significato simbolico, utile appunto a chi non capisce una fava di cosa possa fare e soprattutto non possa fare un Tornado, ma che va bene per far passare il messaggio che i britannici sono sempre cazzuti (mentre invece sono pieni di immigrati...) e noi siamo delle pippe per le quali il qualunquismo e il populismo dilaganti sono cosa buona e giusta per alimentare un po' di sano nazionalismo condito con un pizzico di razzismo, che non guasta a chi cerca voti facili per soluzioni troppo facili a problemi complessi.

Lasciamo stare quei link... Qui si parla di RAF - si spera in modo serio - e dobbiamo astenerci dalla politica che è stata pure bandita dal forum. Quindi anch'io mi taccio.

Modificato 3 Gennaio 2019 da Flaggy