Just for show
So now we start to learn the truth.
We've had all the headlines, the thrilling pictures of Typhoon aircraft tacking of on after burners, the first female Typhoon combat pilot.
No mention of the fact the only air to air kill has been a trainer aircraft that had just landed by the French.
We know the deployment has been expensive.
The RAF has reminded us how their cuts should be reversed.
But no one mentioned that all this tax payer cash burned has been wasted - until now ( see a list of the failings here ).
The whole exercise seems to have been more about internal UK politics than the job in hand.
OF course the RAF Tornado's have done a useful job, but only with the capacity they so embarrassingly lacked in the first gulf war when even more aged RAF Buccaneers had to be drafted in. ( So not only do we have the current disgrace - but its also an example of lessons not learned in the past from previous failures. )
Just what on earth is going on ? Some should be sacked as its tax payer's money that is being needlessly burned here and I for one would like to see heads roll.
Further: The Reg has an article showing how desperate the RAF was to carry out its show attack and that its target was probably a decommissioned tank anyway. The whole exersie carried out for purposes of UK politics.
We've had all the headlines, the thrilling pictures of Typhoon aircraft tacking of on after burners, the first female Typhoon combat pilot.
No mention of the fact the only air to air kill has been a trainer aircraft that had just landed by the French.
We know the deployment has been expensive.
The RAF has reminded us how their cuts should be reversed.
But no one mentioned that all this tax payer cash burned has been wasted - until now ( see a list of the failings here ).
The whole exercise seems to have been more about internal UK politics than the job in hand.
OF course the RAF Tornado's have done a useful job, but only with the capacity they so embarrassingly lacked in the first gulf war when even more aged RAF Buccaneers had to be drafted in. ( So not only do we have the current disgrace - but its also an example of lessons not learned in the past from previous failures. )
Just what on earth is going on ? Some should be sacked as its tax payer's money that is being needlessly burned here and I for one would like to see heads roll.
Further: The Reg has an article showing how desperate the RAF was to carry out its show attack and that its target was probably a decommissioned tank anyway. The whole exersie carried out for purposes of UK politics.
4 comments:
The overwhelming characteristic of our island home is that no one official ever learns from anything which happened.
Its always been the same, the Buccaneer was hugely underpowered for years, ditto the Jaguar and Phantom. RAF Typhoon was never intended to be a ground attack aircraft - it took years to get a canon retrofitted as the only requirement was as a platform for fire and forget air to air missiles.
The Buccaneer Mk1 was underpowered but the Mk2 with the Spey engine was one of the finest attack bombers of its generation. Replaced by Crab Air Tornadoes that were inferior in almost every aspect (except having the highest post-war losses of any British aircraft). Nice irony the Crabs having to fly ex-Fleet Air Arm aircraft after doing everything they could to get rid of the carriers (a familiar story that isn't it? Look at last year's train wreck "defence review").
TTFN
Fly Navy, Dig Army... Eat Crab :)
My thoughts from 18 March remain the same. I was wrong about Obambi's ability to make a decision, he actually made one and the full might of the USA was on display.
My other prediction about what might happen after the USA left the field was correct "and if it is left to the UK and France it will be a debacle." The entire NATO force minus USA is a weak, ineffective and unmanageable mess.
Euroland chose to squander the money made available by "the peace dividend" even to the extent of not training pilots. What motley aircraft they have are unsuited to the task, communications and logistics have to be provided by the bad old USA to ensure that you are not a total laughing-stock unable to communicate or extend flight times and range by mid-air re-fuelling. The navy retired after firing exactly three cruise missiles-pitiful. The extent of force projection on display is just about adequate to invade the Isle of Sheppey. You may as well pack up and go home rather than keep pretending.
NOTHING has been achieved, Gaddafi's forces are pretty much where they were before this massive expenditure and humiliating display of ineffectiveness. Massive refugee problems are on your doorstep, and the brains-trust have still not ascertained if the bearded, keffiyeh clad excitable youth are Al Queda or Hamas or perhaps Hizbolah (it does not matter they all hate you)
NO lessons will be learned and NO heads will roll because the political and military brains trust are equally complicit. FUBAR!
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