Indeed. Which is part of what the USAF is trying to get people to understand (obviously with not too much success). The A-10 might well cost less per hour to operate against a low-tech enemy. But you are paying every single day of the year for a single-mission aircraft with all its logistic and tra...

marktigger wrote:sorry but suspect if Brown had been re elected we woudln't have the carriers

I'm not so sure, the money was spent by that time, it would have cost just as much to cancel them as to continue.

marktigger wrote: I joke with people I work with if we get another Labour government we'll be able to use it for overnight garaging for the whole royal navy.

True, if it had been left to Labour we would probably never have had aircraft carriers again...oh wait, it was a Tory government in 2007, wasn't it?

Are we not committed as a tier 1 partner in the F35 programme to buy at least 100??? So I would have thought that counts against having the excellent Gripen in addition to Typhoon for the RAF. I doubt anyone anywhere near the purse strings at the MOD has even had a daydream about the Gripens, let a...

Well, exactly. We all know (from photos, if not officially advertised) what machines were parked on the deck of the Ocean (ready to go) when the Apaches were taking off for Libya missions. There is at least one official photo that makes reference to them. https://assets.digital.cabinet-office.gov.u...

Copy that. Wouldn't be like a MP getting dates wrong, would it?? It is worse than that, it isn't just an MP getting it wrong, she is the Minister of State for the Armed Forces... It's ok, her and the other local MP's, including the Minister for Portsmouth, have saved ship building in the area....oh...

QEC Eye in the SKY wrote:Copy that. Wouldn't be like a MP getting dates wrong, would it??

It is worse than that, it isn't just an MP getting it wrong, she is the Minister of State for the Armed Forces...

I think that the Spanish Juan Carlos 1 multi-purpose ships (as bought by Australia - Canberra class) are far more versatile and look like being much better value: now if we had half-a-dozen of these instead of the carriers, LPHs and LPDs we could still operate small numbers of F-35s from them if we...

Battle of Britain styled Typhoon does look good. http://www.itv.com/news/2015-05-21/raf-unveils-battle-of-britain-typhoon-to-commemorate-75th-anniversary/ http://news.images.itv.com/image/file/671681/stream_img.jpg Along with one of its older brethren, which the Telegraph seemed to think was a Spitf...

IrishT wrote:

-Eddie- wrote:replaced our jets with Cessnas.

You joke, but some of our countries "defence forces" have actually done that ;_;

Back to basics a Cessna and a .38 Webley...

I see Farage has managed to twist himself out of that 'Promise' he made about resigning... The UKIP party has refused to accept his resignation, so he's withdrawn it and will continue as leader. :roll: yeah... Like that wasn't the plan from the start... :roll: What he said before the election: “It ...

-Eddie- wrote:Solomon has some interesting articles, however his 'facts' regarding British defence seem to be based on Fox News reports.

Reading some of his stuff actually makes Fox look logical and factual .

Plus Ocean carries British built aircraft that support British jobs instead of supporting the US economy with procurement of flaky F-35s. The UK will do pretty well out of the F35. At current levels, 15% of the F35 is British built components. The following British companies were recognised at toda...

cockneyjock1974 wrote:She is being loaded onto the dockside as at time of writing. Unfortunately no pics as i cannot for the life of me find the batteries for my camera.

Soz folks.

No camera on the mobile?

SKB wrote:41 gun salutes are due to be fired at 2pm today simultaneously in Hyde Park and The Tower Of London to salute the birth of the new Princess of Cambridge. Still no news about names yet.

Charlotte Elizabeth Diana according to the "Breaking News" on my Sky News app.

I can't be the only one who just doesn't give a f...

Another refugee who was a QE thread follower. Let's hope it's as successful here as it was there .

Good to see this thread, hopefully it will be a successful continuation of the big one on MP.net.