@BlickyIan Wasn’t it bought to allow enough airframes to meet additional Falklands commitments?
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Rod Grant
609 posts
A bit of a change from Lightnings F-4J (UK ) Phantom a stop gap buy by the RAF On reflection it was a bit of a crazy purchase - The Tornado F3 was about to enter service and they could have just hung on - However it allowed the RAF to finally see which was better the J- K or M ?
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Rod Grant retweetet
@NavyLookout I’m old enough (but still serving) to remember the magic number of 50 frigates and destroyers being the absolute minimum. This was the 80s and the Cold War not the 1950s, seems impossible to believe such numbers now!
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The Royal Navy is down to 7 frigates left in service.
HMS Lancaster decommissioned in Bahrain yesterday.
(Believe last time this took place overseas was when HMS Peacock, Plover & Starling - decommissioned together in Hong Kong before hand over to Philippine Navy, Aug 1997.)
navylookout.com/hms-lancaster-…
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@LeonardBriscoe3 It shouldn’t be an option to choose not to work and sponge off the tax payer instead!
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I think that Andrew is missing the point, 750,000 children will be lifted out of poverty and we will have a welfare system that will not force people into work.
It was necessary.
Andrew Neil@afneil
This will be a tough weekend for the Chancellor. She knew almost six weeks before the Budget from the OBR there was no ‘black hole’. Yet she and the Treasury still stoked up the idea that there was — and it would take big tax rises to fill it. By Oct 31 she knew from the OBR there was actually £4bn headroom rather than a black hole. Yet still on Nov 5th she commandeered breakfast media to roll the pitch for big tax rises. Even by mid-November she was telling the BBC if Labour stuck to its manifesto commitments (ie no income tax rises) she’d need deep cuts to capital investment. None of what she said in the run up to the Budget was true. The Treasury select committee needs to ask her why she so misled the Parliament, the markets and the British people. She raised taxes to give herself some more headroom and to pay for yet another increase in (largely welfare) spending. The tax burden is going to all-time record level for a simple reason: the Labour manifesto said public spending would be around £10bn higher than Tory plans by 2028/29. In reality on the latest projections it will be £179bn higher!!! Nothing to do with filling in black holes.
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Rod Grant retweetet
Rod Grant retweetet
@Gabriel64869839 @MtarfaL What has been the disappointment with Crowsnest? Apart from using ASW assets that is? At one stage I think they looked at the Commando Merlin and bolting a couple of removable consoles inside!!
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The MQ-9B will fly with the Saab AEW pods already in Summer 2026, GA-ASI and Saab have announced.
ga-asi.com/ga-asi-and-saa…
The Royal Navy will watch this very closely. In combination with the STOL wing kit, this would deliver the CROWSNEST successor the Navy wants.
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November marks #Islamophobia Awareness Month. And with almost 40% of all religious hate crimes in 2024 targeting Muslims, this is a stark reminder of the problem we face.
We, @LibDems will continue to fight prejudice wherever it exists.
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@BillyRFC517 @FlyNavyPhil But not past the edge of the be mouth! I was looking forward to trying a goatee but apparently that’s a step too far!!
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@FlyNavyPhil The man with the moustache is understandably in awe of Bootnecks and would do anything to emulate them…just saying 😂😂
The Reg’s changed and now Bootnecks can look like Jack and Jack can have moustaches!
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I have some questions:
1. Why is the one far left in a different rig?
2. Why does the one second left have a moustache? Are they allowed now?
HMS COLLINGWOOD@HMS_Collingwood
We are delighted to share that IWOC 2502 have successfully conquered their Navigation Watchkeeping course! Congratulations on this significant achievement and best wishes as you set sail on your promising careers in the Royal Navy. #MadeInTheRoyalNavy #CommittedToExcellence
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@WarshipsIFR @MarinhaPT @HMNBDevonport @StephenJagger4 This is what we should be buying to supplement the SSN that takes too long to build!
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A rare 'catch' in UK waters: the Portuguese Navy @MarinhaPT Tridente Class diesel-electric submarine NRP Tridente inbound through a frisky Plymouth Sound to @HMNBDevonport this morning. Video courtesy @StephenJagger4 for Warships IFR.
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@FennellJW Remember how the English Electric Lightning was going to be the last crewed fighter?!
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The future. For FAA and RAF too. Although not this platform.
Office of the Secretary of the Air Force@SecAFOfficial
Today, the @usairforce made continued progress in our CCA program with the first flight of the YFQ-44A developed by @anduriltech. This milestone shows how competition drives innovation & accelerates delivery. (1/2)
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@TimHirst5 @pinstripedline @AligooseQ Recruiting is always an issue, but retention is wanting to be at sea in the first place!
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@RodgrantRod @pinstripedline @AligooseQ And what makes you think that the FAA would be able to recruit and retain all the extra people it would need. Finding young people who want to regularly spend lots of time on a tin can out at sea is getting very difficult ir of what uniform they are wearing.
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No decision on variants has been taken - but costing done on A variant, this doesnt mean it will happen...
Also the emergence of uncrewed alternatives and the reality that only one carrier will be fully deployable means 62 is more than enough for our maritime needs.
Navy Lookout@NavyLookout
New MoD evidence provided to the PAC shows "the assumption" is now to cap F-35B buys at a total of 62. All UK F-35 purchases after 2035 will likely be the A variant - as the RAF has long lobbied for... committees.parliament.uk/publications/4… H/T @Gabriel64869839
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@pinstripedline @AligooseQ We had 51 FA2 in the end and that barely met the needs of 2 smaller carriers with 6-8 per deployment. If only for retention needs the FAA needs to operate them again. The RAF (aircrew and maintainers) did not sign up to and dislike their time onboard. It takes a sailor to do it.
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@AligooseQ The SHAR force managed to sustain nearly three decades of operations with barely 30 cabs...
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Turkey'sbig Typhoon deal involves early aquistions from Qatar (12 tranche 4 AESA radar) and 12 upgraded Tranche 2s from Oman, followed by 40 new build Tranche 5s from BAES.
Tugay Er@TugayEr
🇹🇷✈️ Türkiye’s Eurofighter Typhoon strategy is much bigger than most realize. Based on reporting by @anilsahinst & @SavunmaSanayiST, the plan is multi-layered and moves fast: 1️⃣ New Tranche 4 Order – UK • Türkiye is negotiating for 40 Tranche 4 Typhoons (20 firm + 20 optional) • First batch: 20 aircraft • Second batch: 20 depending on operational needs • A high-level UK delegation is expected in Ankara soon — potentially for the signing. 2️⃣ Qatar Deal (Tranche 3A) • 12 aircraft with AESA radar. • Critical to establish training and logistics infrastructure early. • Türkiye may take over Qatar’s production slot, accelerating deliveries by up to 2 years. 3️⃣ Oman Talks (Tranche 3A) • Negotiations ongoing for up to 12 aircraft. • Full or partial fleet transfer possible, bridging the timeline before Tranche 4 jets arrive. ⸻ 🧠 Why this matters (My Take): • Turkish munitions integration on Eurofighter is already confirmed which means, the TurAF are still self reliant on armaments not bindet to imports. • Early acquisition + accelerated training = Türkiye operational on Typhoons well before final deliveries. • If all current deals are executed (40 new + 12 second-hand), Türkiye’s Eurofighter fleet could reach ~52 aircraft, making it the 5th largest Eurofighter operator in NATO, right behind Spain. • This creates a powerful interim capability while KAAN matures giving Türkiye major strategic flexibility. • Combined with the full F-16 Özgür / Block 70T modernization, this would heavily amplify Türkiye’s regional air dominance, creating a two-tiered force structure where upgraded F-16s and Eurofighters secure the skies until KAAN’s 5th-gen platform and engines enter service. 📎 Credit: @anilsahinst @SavunmaSanayiST
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@_CallumAnderson I think her point was it doesn’t reflect society!
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Sad that Sarah finds it so uncomfortable to see black & Asian Brits on TV adverts. Our screens reflect the diverse country it is. Confident nations aren’t threatened by visibility. Leaders should bring people together, not stoke resentment over whatever Persil or M&S are selling.
Talk@TalkTV
Sarah Pochin MP: “It drives me mad seeing adverts full of black and Asian people.” Caller Stuart in London asks the Reform MP if her party will do anything about the 'representation of demographics in TV adverts'. @petercardwell | @SarahForRuncorn
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Technical Core – Armament for Royal Navy Variants
9/25 For the RN’s maritime Lynx (HAS.2/3/8), armament focused on anti-ship and ASW roles, including up to four Sea Skua anti-ship missiles for over-the-horizon strikes or Mk 46/Stingray torpedoes for submarine engagement. Door-mounted machine guns provided self-defence against close threats. Utilisation centred on frigate/destroyer escorts, delivering organic ASW, anti-surface warfare (ASuW), and search-and-rescue (SAR) from carriers like HMS Invincible. The corrosion-resistant hull and folding mechanisms optimised it for shipboard operations, allowing quick launches in rough seas.
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Introduction to the Westland Lynx
Views my own, facts as always can be corrected.
(Yes I am a fan of the worlds fastest helicopter - more in depth threads to follow)
1/25 The Westland Lynx stands as a testament to British ingenuity in rotary-wing aviation, emerging in the late 20th century as a multi-role helicopter capable of adapting to the demanding environments of both sea and land. Conceived amid Cold War imperatives for agile, shipborne anti-submarine warfare (ASW) platforms and battlefield reconnaissance assets, the Lynx fulfilled a dual-service requirement for the Royal Navy (RN) and British Army (including the Royal Marines). Over its five-decade service life, it evolved through numerous variants, influencing export designs and paving the way for its successor, the AW159 Wildcat. This thread attempts to trace the Lynx’s journey from conceptual origins to operational deployment, emphasising its technical attributes, service-specific adaptations, combat record, international adoption, and transition to the Wildcat. It further compares the Lynx to American counterparts like the Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk and UH-60 Black Hawk, evaluates its strengths and limitations, and assesses its enduring relevance in an era dominated by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
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