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Search found 624 matches

by ColintheCaterpillar
Fri Dec 03, 2021 8:17 pm
Forum: The Fighter Control Mess
Topic: Sentinel to fly again?
Replies: 6
Views: 3320

Re: Sentinel to fly again?

Canberra TT.18 wrote:
Wed Nov 17, 2021 2:18 pm
USArmy use probably related to this:

https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news ... den-flight
US have operated some very Sentinel lookalike E-11s for many years too.
by ColintheCaterpillar
Fri Dec 03, 2021 8:13 pm
Forum: The Fighter Control Mess
Topic: E7 Wedgetail order reduction
Replies: 46
Views: 13874

Re: E7 Wedgetail order reduction

The MoD already has a way of using very small fleets of highly valuable assets to meet some of its most critical needs (Nimrod R1, RC-135, Vanguard, Astute, etc.) so I expect the powers that be are already familiar with what they need to do to be successful. Quite an assumption and time will tell. ...
by ColintheCaterpillar
Thu Sep 09, 2021 1:33 pm
Forum: The Fighter Control Mess
Topic: RAF to scrap E-3 Sentry this year
Replies: 170
Views: 34179

Re: RAF to scrap E-3 Sentry this year

And if the rumours are correct, presumably someone will need to train the customer?
by ColintheCaterpillar
Fri Aug 27, 2021 4:31 pm
Forum: The Fighter Control Mess
Topic: RAF to scrap E-3 Sentry this year
Replies: 170
Views: 34179

Re: RAF to scrap E-3 Sentry this year

But if they stay, they're going to end up in Lossiemouth anyway. Hmm, Lossiemouth or GIX? I know where I'd rather go. Depends on the manning and who is actually going - and just because you are on E-3 doesn’t automatically mean you have to go to E-7 for all the reasons previously mentioned. The E-7...
by ColintheCaterpillar
Fri Aug 27, 2021 3:26 pm
Forum: The Fighter Control Mess
Topic: RAF to scrap E-3 Sentry this year
Replies: 170
Views: 34179

Re: RAF to scrap E-3 Sentry this year

Exactly this. And less of an appetite to move around to with the way the housing market has gone, particularly those in Lincolnshire. A smaller RAF with fewer locations means more people settling down for the long term in one place. But if they stay, they're going to end up in Lossiemouth anyway. H...
by ColintheCaterpillar
Fri Aug 27, 2021 1:36 pm
Forum: The Fighter Control Mess
Topic: RAF to scrap E-3 Sentry this year
Replies: 170
Views: 34179

Re: RAF to scrap E-3 Sentry this year

Just like to say that when you sign up.You sign up to serve wherever in the world that might be.I have seen individuals throw there teddy bears on the floor to try to get what they want.It doesn't work as there are plenty more who want to get on and learn new skills. Therefore it may produce a smal...
by ColintheCaterpillar
Fri Aug 27, 2021 1:33 pm
Forum: The Fighter Control Mess
Topic: RAF to scrap E-3 Sentry this year
Replies: 170
Views: 34179

Re: RAF to scrap E-3 Sentry this year

If you can't take a joke you shouldn't join up. What would you have all the personnel on the Sentry and Sentinel fleets do now. You volunteer to join, and you are often free to leave at fairly short notice, particularly with the manning of a legacy fleet on the way out, which tends to be skewed tow...
by ColintheCaterpillar
Thu Aug 26, 2021 9:11 am
Forum: The Fighter Control Mess
Topic: RAF to scrap E-3 Sentry this year
Replies: 170
Views: 34179

Re: RAF to scrap E-3 Sentry this year

with the reality of asking people to up sticks and head abroad for an indeterminate amount of time.. Isn’t that part of serving in the Forces though? I’m the old days, yes. Today, less so. There’s less smooth these days to temper the “rough” and a lot smaller total force to pick those people from. ...
by ColintheCaterpillar
Sat Aug 21, 2021 8:59 pm
Forum: The Fighter Control Mess
Topic: Lancaster departure from Duxford
Replies: 10
Views: 3702

Re: Lancaster departure from Duxford

Regarding the work Arco are doing on the Lanc , dIdnt St Athan RAF, Do maintenance on all RAF aircraft ? just a query regarding the amount of servicing the RAF engineers now do? Rob And when it comes to the BBMF, it makes a lot of sense to put it out to tender to people who work with historics day ...
by ColintheCaterpillar
Tue Aug 17, 2021 12:19 am
Forum: The Fighter Control Mess
Topic: RAF to scrap E-3 Sentry this year
Replies: 170
Views: 34179

Re: RAF to scrap E-3 Sentry this year

E-3's aren't used to detect Bears and Blackjacks now, and E-7's won't be when we get them either, so IMV they aren't a must have. I didn’t say they were - it’s hardly like they are seen 24/7 on Flightradar. I merely stated they offer the ability to cover (amongst all the other areas) the necessary ...
by ColintheCaterpillar
Mon Aug 16, 2021 9:46 pm
Forum: The Fighter Control Mess
Topic: RAF to scrap E-3 Sentry this year
Replies: 170
Views: 34179

Re: RAF to scrap E-3 Sentry this year

Why? We've no AEW sovereign cover now, and probably wont have any for 2-3 years. During that time I assume we'll rely on either NATO or French E-3's if needed. And when we do get E-7's, at present it looks like we'll have at most 2 ready for ops, and one in re-fit, and they'll only be used in a coa...
by ColintheCaterpillar
Mon Aug 16, 2021 7:11 pm
Forum: The Fighter Control Mess
Topic: RAF to scrap E-3 Sentry this year
Replies: 170
Views: 34179

Re: RAF to scrap E-3 Sentry this year

Exactly - E-3, and more so E-7 is fine as part of a coalition effort, but little use as a sovereign asset. But is a capability that we choose to offer to NATO, in the main probably due to geography as the U.K. forms the north-western shoulder of Europe and the corporate expertise we have in such Op...
by ColintheCaterpillar
Mon Aug 16, 2021 5:53 pm
Forum: The Fighter Control Mess
Topic: RAF to scrap E-3 Sentry this year
Replies: 170
Views: 34179

Re: RAF to scrap E-3 Sentry this year

and with E-7 we won't even be able to AAR the things. Unless of course we refuel them like a lot (the majority) of the times the E-3s refuel. The whole AAR argument is blown way out of proportion. Good old coalitions. Which means it isn't a sovereign asset/mission. I've no issues with coalition/NAT...
by ColintheCaterpillar
Mon Aug 16, 2021 2:02 pm
Forum: The Fighter Control Mess
Topic: RAF to scrap E-3 Sentry this year
Replies: 170
Views: 34179

Re: RAF to scrap E-3 Sentry this year

Our limited funds need to be spent on defending the realm for the next few years. and with E-7 we won't even be able to AAR the things. Unless of course we refuel them like a lot (the majority) of the times the E-3s refuel. The whole AAR argument is blown way out of proportion. Good old coalitions.
by ColintheCaterpillar
Mon Aug 16, 2021 2:01 pm
Forum: The Fighter Control Mess
Topic: RAF to scrap E-3 Sentry this year
Replies: 170
Views: 34179

Re: RAF to scrap E-3 Sentry this year

Sentinel isn’t the best example given they way it was acquired: an Urgent Operational Requirement used to unlock the funding, which present issues further down the line. It was never going to be a long term fleet. Sentry/E-3 is another issue entirely. It’s not just about mission equipment upgrades, ...
by ColintheCaterpillar
Mon Aug 16, 2021 1:53 pm
Forum: The Fighter Control Mess
Topic: Kabul - USAF C-17 - 02-1109
Replies: 57
Views: 8784

Re: Kabul - USAF C-17 - 02-1109

Seeing footage from the airport over the last 24 hours there is no doubt that it is a desperate situation on the ground with people trying to escape the country. The one thing I'm struggling to grasp with this clip though is that people running both in front of, and behind, the engines and seem una...
by ColintheCaterpillar
Mon Aug 16, 2021 1:50 pm
Forum: The Fighter Control Mess
Topic: Kabul - USAF C-17 - 02-1109
Replies: 57
Views: 8784

Re: Kabul - USAF C-17 - 02-1109

Ross Forsyth wrote:
Mon Aug 16, 2021 10:42 am
Wouldn`t want to be that crew trying to make the call on departing with that going on around
Indeed. Horrible situation for them, but no one can blame them at all for making the decision they did.
by ColintheCaterpillar
Wed Aug 11, 2021 11:12 am
Forum: The Fighter Control Mess
Topic: RAF to scrap E-3 Sentry this year
Replies: 170
Views: 34179

Re: RAF to scrap E-3 Sentry this year

Still no word on who won the tender for the Disposal of the E3s (107/102) and Sentinel fleet. I can't see it sadly. I genuinely think this could be a problem for the MoD, given the number of valuable, current, airliners that are being disposed of at the moment. There aren’t many companies who can d...
by ColintheCaterpillar
Wed Aug 11, 2021 11:08 am
Forum: The Fighter Control Mess
Topic: RAF to scrap E-3 Sentry this year
Replies: 170
Views: 34179

Re: RAF to scrap E-3 Sentry this year

Not as of yet, that I've heard. As we know 105 is a fuselage and a some stubby wing tips. 104 is in the US. 107 has now lost it's rotardome. 102 appears intact from the outside, might have lost some/all engines or parts of. 101/3/6 may yet fly again, and may end up elsewhere. So there's not many op...

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