RAF View

@gregbagwell The RAF Regiment gets slated every time they appear on social media so they don’t talk about what they do. ‘That video’ is a cross they have to bear sadly, a pity as they have good people doing very interesting things.

The MoD is understandably coy about what things are deployed and where, but sometimes you can join the dots up…..

@FennellJW That’s not a 7 Sqn cab so not SF.

Two Chinooks. Interesting deployment suggesting SF?

Looks like additional RAF Typhoons are en-route from Coningsby, follows announcement that four are to bolster defences of Allies in Middle East. Good luck and god speed.

Somewhat inevitably the UK F-35 pilot who shot down a drone was from the Fleet Air Arm (well done to him).

Should the UK come under missile attack I’m heading to the safest place to be - Portsmouth

@JonA2i Not at that price

@RAFView But is that a wise investment?

The reason the US has access to Fairford & Diego Garcia for strat bombers is the ‘special relationship’. DG is little use militarily to the UK, of huge use to the US. The £ being spent to keep use of it (rightly/wrongly) can be seen as an investment in the special relationship

The personnel will be cracking on, but they do (and should) expect their loved ones to have maximum protection from the get go, not in eight days time. 2/2

For UK personnel at Akrotiri the fight is very real, be interested to see the effect on the views of personnel of the failure to deploy assets to protect the base and the family/dependents there. 1/2

@jeromestarkey ‘Drone blitz’?

🚨 The drone hit a part of the Akrotiri used by Top Secret US spy planes after evading British defences at RAF Akrotiri. thesun.co.uk/news/38386115/…

@claire_adams694 @CDP1882 @MartinDaubney He was OC of an A400 squadron so hardly a failure.

@CDP1882 @MartinDaubney He literally admitted he left so he failed as an airman and an MP.

Labour MP Calvin Bailey has failed to confirm if he has confidence in the state's ability to protect personnel at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus. Questioned about air defence assets by @MartinDaubney, Bailey told GB News that the base being underfunded is "part of the reason why I left the military." In a stark response, he added: "It's horrendous the situation that our brave service personnel find themselves in."

Shades of Op Ellamy (Libya) - an RN carrier can’t get where it needs to be in time, and a significant number of fast jets are on Red Flag and unavailable for ops.

@ShipWrektPod So CAP of their own floating airfield or amphibious ships we don’t have?

@RAFView CAP of a carrier group / amphibious group. I cannot recall there being an air to air versions of TLAM. San Carlos refers. That battle the RAF said they could cover globally but instead bombed the grass either side of the runway?

Genuine question, what can these accomplish that 48 submarine launched Tomahawks couldn’t at much lower cost and risk?

@ThePymes @TBrit90 SEAD, how so without a stand-off munition?

@TBrit90 @RAFView Can't believe I need to post this: 1. TLAMs are single use weapons, whilst 24x F-35s can fly again and again. 2. The UK doesn't possess a submarine that can launch 48x TLAMs. 3. F-35s can perform more than just strike targets - DCA, SEAD, EW & ISTAR

@john_oxenford Not convinced by an economic argument to justify using a $100 million aircraft with no gun and only Paveway IV and flown by a scarce and expensive pilot to be honest.

@RAFView Deliver CAS. And attack targets that don't warrant a scarce and expensive Tomahawk. They do need to be provided with a proper standoff capability though...

@jumpjettwit Air-ground at distance only with the aid of land-based AAR, the Air Wing has no organic capability, and F-35 has no stand-off munitions to deploy. As for AD, isn't that what the T45s are for?

@RAFView Shoot down enemy air assets. Launch air to ground at distance. Defend a task force over the horizon.

@john_oxenford Task Group made up of what?

@RAFView Form the outer layer of an air defence shield for a task group

@Adm_Hindsight @CyberneticDetox For the cost of a couple of carriers we could?

@CyberneticDetox @RAFView We also dont have an A boat that could rapidly launch 48 Cruise missiles

Seven #RAF Chinooks drawn from all four squadrons at Dishforth today ahead of an airborne assault as part of #ExPinionTitan.