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Syrian/Iraq air war and conflict

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Re: Syrian/Iraq air war and conflict

Post by page_verify » Wed Jan 13, 2016 9:17 am

Brimstone has accidentally become the preferred option in Syria and Iraq right now, despite it's relatively high cost. There are cheaper alternatives, Hellfire and Maverick etc., but they can't be or aren't able to be carried by the large twin-engine twin-seat fighter bombers. Those size of aircraft are being used because no one now wants to send a single engine (therefore lower reliability) aircraft over the grim IS held areas and most missions are armed reconnaissance rather than purely strike missions. The electro-optical kit carried today is designed for the person in the back to operate it rather than a single seater pilot. Additionally, Brimstone has both laser and radar guidance that helps it meet the very tight rules of engagement firing them into someone else's country require. Cannon fire for example doesn't provide electronic assurance of target acquisition like a missile can. Brimstone also has a small enough warhead to remove the risk of collateral damage than a larger laser guided bomb that is designed to destroy a building rather than a pickup truck. America created its Small Diameter Bomb, but I've not seen any recent mention of that being used, maybe it's just not being shouted about.

It costs more, but then you can argue they've already been bought. If they're not used, they're wasted inventory. Although you then have to decide whether or not you want to replace them. I suspect the £100,000 difference between Option 1 and Option 2 is trivial when the whole total cost of each GR4 mission is probably around 7 figures.

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C24
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Re: Syrian/Iraq air war and conflict

Post by C24 » Thu Jan 14, 2016 6:17 am

Most informative, thank you.
I came across a video of an attack on a truck convoy which was hit with some type of missile and it raised in my mind just how expensive it is to destroy a truck. Hence my comment above.
It is also interesting to note that it is not possible to use everything in the armament inventory on each aircraft type.
Could two seat Typhoons be modified? We seem to be heading for more ground attack activity than was forecast twenty years ago and seem not to have quite the right kit for the job.
Just musing, don't anyone shout at me :S

Edit 0620hrs. Just noticed Gary's post about USAF A10.
C24.
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Re: Syrian/Iraq air war and conflict

Post by Vulcanone » Thu Jan 14, 2016 10:20 am

C24

The entire Typhoon fleet (well Tranche 2 and 3) will be capable of carrying Brimstone once its been cleared, I can't remember if they have actually started that yet however. And as for the Tranche jets well we are keeping them for the mostly Air Defence role. I'm not sure if they will be able to carry it.

Yes it costs more but if its a more clinical way of ensuring you don't wipe out the friendly bunch on the same side of the village, oh well so be it.

Tim

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Re: Syrian/Iraq air war and conflict

Post by page_verify » Thu Jan 14, 2016 1:29 pm

It'll be interesting to see what benefit to the Syria missions adding the Brimstone to the Typhoon will have. I suspect it won't be as much as the GR4 retirement planners had hoped for.

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Re: Syrian/Iraq air war and conflict

Post by Vulcanone » Thu Jan 14, 2016 3:30 pm

I don't know the completion timeline for integration work of Brimstone or Storm Shadow onto Typhoon. But it will have to be ready in about 3 years as the OSD for Tornado is still 2019 as far as is known.

Tim

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Re: Syrian/Iraq air war and conflict

Post by Malcolm » Thu Jan 14, 2016 8:20 pm

Vulcanone wrote:I don't know the completion timeline for integration work of Brimstone or Storm Shadow onto Typhoon. But it will have to be ready in about 3 years as the OSD for Tornado is still 2019 as far as is known.

Tim
IIRC release to service is supposed to be Storm Shadow in 2017 and Brimstone in 2018. I think Brimstone is supposed to be carried on a multi rail launcher (called aarrrggg can't remember) , allowing 3 missiles per pylon, so 6 in total.

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Re: Syrian/Iraq air war and conflict

Post by mirage41 » Thu Jan 14, 2016 10:53 pm

6 in total seems a step back for me - seen 41 Sqdn Tornardoes go out with a lot more than that tucked underneath.

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Re: Syrian/Iraq air war and conflict

Post by Malcolm » Fri Jan 15, 2016 12:26 am

mirage41 wrote:6 in total seems a step back for me - seen 41 Sqdn Tornardoes go out with a lot more than that tucked underneath.
It appears from various web sources that up to 18 Brimstones can be carried on 6 rails, together with 4 AMRAMS/Meteors, 2 ASRAMS and one centreline tank. However, I doubt that's a realistic wartime payload, and some of the brimstone rails would be replaced by extra fuel tanks and/or Paveway 2/4 's for when you need a bigger bang.

http://eurofighter.airpower.at/bewaffnung.htm

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Re: Syrian/Iraq air war and conflict

Post by EGDR » Tue Jan 26, 2016 12:43 pm

The Int'l Spectator ‏@intlspectator 5m5 minutes ago
BREAKING: Dutch Parliament authorises airstrikes in Syria against ISIS
https://twitter.com/intlspectator/statu ... 7694895104

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Re: Syrian/Iraq air war and conflict

Post by Gary » Wed Feb 03, 2016 1:15 pm

WRITTEN BY: GEORGE ALLISON FEBRUARY 3, 2016
On Friday, Tornado, Typhoon and Reaper combat aircraft from RAF Akrotiri, launched a large scale assault on Islamic State

Supported by a Voyager tanker the aircraft flew armed reconnaissance missions over north-east Syria and northern Iraq. Near Mosul, the Typhoons conducted two attacks with Paveway IV precision guided bombs. Across the border in Syria, two pairs of Tornados worked in close cooperation with an RAF Reaper to target a group of Daesh defensive positions and a large tunnel complex with several entrances.

Air strikes to now focus on hitting command centres and supply lines while continuing to avoid civilian casualties.

RAF combat aircraft have already stepped up strikes in recent weeks. Ministry of Defence figures show that UK air strikes have risen from a monthly average of 29 between May and October last year to more than 80 in December. In the first week of January the RAF conducted 31 strikes.

According to the Ministry of Defence:

“RAF Reapers were in action again on Saturday 30 January. In the area of Ramadi, they conducted two successful attacks with Hellfire missiles against an armoured truck and a mechanical excavator, while a patrol along the border with Syria destroyed another engineering vehicle, used to build defences and attempt repairs to damage from coalition air strikes, near Al Qaim.

On Sunday, a Tornado GR4 flight provided support to the Iraqi army in and around Ramadi: our aircraft used a Brimstone missile to destroy a large truck-bomb, and three Paveways to destroy terrorist positions, including a heavy machine-gun team which had been previously attacking the Iraqi army. In northern Iraq, Typhoons conducted two Paveway attacks on a group of terrorists caught in the open near Mosul, and, slightly further south, a Daesh-held building. A pair of Typhoons also patrolled over eastern Syria, where they employed Paveways to destroy two large clusters of defensive positions.

On Monday 1 February, two Tornados flew reconnaissance and close air support for the Kurdish peshmerga in northern Iraq. Near Kisik Junction, they used a Brimstone missile and three Paveways to attack three rocket launchers and a Daesh vehicle, then over Qayyarah, a further Brimstone and Paveway destroyed an ammunition truck and a mortar position. Typhoons operated in the area of Ramadi, where they conducted successful attacks on three terrorist strongpoints.”
Info from https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/3587-2/ ... n=socialUK Defence Journal
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Re: Syrian/Iraq air war and conflict

Post by 22A » Sat Feb 13, 2016 4:27 pm

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/crew-saves-pi ... 27588.html
A quick-thinking refuelling plane crew saved a fighter pilot who faced having to eject over Islamic State territory.
The F-16 had been trying to refuel in mid-air when the pilot discovered a malfunction with his fuel system, which meant he could only fly for 15 minutes - nowhere near enough to reach safety.
Instead of leaving the pilot to cope with the emergency himself, the US Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker crew managed to escort him back to its base while refuelling every 15 minutes to keep the jet in the air.
The Air Force did not reveal where the incident took place or which country the F-16 pilot was from.

Meanwhile; Russia has dispatched a new ship armed with cruise missiles to the Mediterranean, the navy announced Saturday, as reports said it is bound for Syria.
The Zelyony Dol, a patrol ship armed with Kalibr cruise missiles that only joined the Black Sea fleet in December, departed for the Mediterranean, the Black Sea fleet said in a statement.

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Re: Syrian/Iraq air war and conflict

Post by Lofty89 » Sat Feb 27, 2016 12:18 pm

USAF sending B-52s to fight ISIS in the spring

Article here

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Re: Syrian/Iraq air war and conflict

Post by Mavke » Sun Feb 28, 2016 10:08 pm

lets hope they fly out of Fairford ....

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Re: Syrian/Iraq air war and conflict

Post by page_verify » Mon Feb 29, 2016 4:53 pm

Although Fairford is about 1,000km closer, they'll use Diego Garcia like they have for the last 15 years.

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Re: Syrian/Iraq air war and conflict

Post by T_J » Wed Mar 09, 2016 8:16 pm

Interestingly a pair of OV-10 Broncos have been involved in operations.
The twin-engine Broncos—each flown by a pair of naval aviators—completed 134 sorties, including 120 combat missions, over a span of 82 days beginning in May 2015 or shortly thereafter, according to U.S. Central Command, which oversees America’s wars in the Middle East and Afghanistan.

Central Command would not say exactly where the OV-10s were based or where they launched their attacks, but did specify that the diminutive attack planes with their distinctive twin tail booms flew in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, the U.S.-led international campaign against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2 ... -isis.html

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Re: Syrian/Iraq air war and conflict

Post by MRTT » Fri Mar 11, 2016 10:19 pm

Appears a dog has been hit by an RAF Tornado on landing at Akrotiri, dog has died.

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Re: Syrian/Iraq air war and conflict

Post by Gary » Tue Apr 05, 2016 10:55 am

Sky News are reporting a Syrian jet has been shot down South of Aleppo, some Twitter sites are saying it's a SU-22


Image

Edit :- Pilot has been capture https://twitter.com/michaelh992
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Re: Syrian/Iraq air war and conflict

Post by MRTT » Tue Apr 05, 2016 12:28 pm

Gary wrote:Sky News are reporting a Syrian jet has been shot down South of Aleppo, some Twitter sites are saying it's a SU-22


Image

Edit :- Pilot has been capture https://twitter.com/michaelh992
Been confirmed on Twitter that it is an Su-22, not good. :(

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Re: Syrian/Iraq air war and conflict

Post by Tally-ho » Tue Apr 05, 2016 2:25 pm

Any Syrian jet shot down is good news to me.

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Re: Syrian/Iraq air war and conflict

Post by MRTT » Tue Apr 05, 2016 2:35 pm

Tally-ho wrote:Any Syrian jet shot down is good news to me.
That's lovely...not! :grr:

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