Britain Has It's Own 'Top Gun' Pilots

Lt Daniel Latham takes to the air in an F-18 Hornet

Royal Navy 'Top Gun' Pilots Train to Fly US Fighters -- BBC

The F18 fighter jets gleam dazzling silver in the California sunshine at Naval Air Station Lemoore, where the control tower handles up to 300 operations a day.

British Royal Navy pilot Lt Dan Latham is walking out to his aircraft with his American colleague for a training mission that will see them fly through the cloudless skies for hundreds of miles over the desert on a practice bombing raid.

Dan, from Ormskirk in Lancashire, is one of the lucky few chosen to fly with his American naval counterparts in the US for four years.

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My Comment: Only 9 pilots training .... with 4 on the way .... I would have expected more.

Britain's Surveillance Planes Are Grounded

United States Air Force E-3 Sentry. Wikipedia

RAF Planes Grounded After Technical Fault -- The Telegraph

A fleet of RAF surveillance planes has been grounded after a technical fault was discovered on one of the craft.

Six Boeing Sentry E3D aircraft are temporarily out of service as a precautionary measure after the fault was discovered on a routine inspection at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire.

A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said: "A routine inspection on an E3D aircraft at RAF Waddington has revealed a technical issue with one of the in-service aircraft.

"Routine E3D operations have been temporarily suspended pending further engineering investigation.

"There is no loss of operational capability."

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Update: Sky spies grounded by cracks. RAF jets safety fears -- The Sun

My Comment: They can say that there is "no loss of operational capability" as much as they want .... but bottom line .... these planes are still grounded.

The World’s Last Flying Vulcan Warplane To Fly At The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Celebrations

Last of the breed: The Spirit of Great Britain in action

Vulcan Lands Starring Role In Royal Jubilee As Last Warplane Is Saved From The Scrapyard -- Daily Mail

The world’s last flying Vulcan warplane, saved from the scrapyard by Mail on Sunday readers, is to play a major role in the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

The delta-wing aircraft, which flew during the Cold War and was capable of carrying nuclear bombs, will pay tribute to the Monarch’s 60 years on the Throne by flying for millions of people across the UK.

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My Comment: I love the plane and the name (yes ... I am a star Trek fan).

Fire Sale Of British Harrier Jump Jets Disclosed

It is likely that instead of being flown that the Harriers will be broken up for spares despite having seven years of flying life left

Harrier Jump-Jets Sold 'For Peanuts' -- The Telegraph

Dozens of British Harrier jump jets are to be sold to the United States Marine Corps for £34 million after more than £1 billion has been spent on them in the last decade.

The Ministry of Defence finalised the deal with the Americans last night but the move has been described by Royal Navy officers as “crass” and a “shocking waste”.

One officer said the US was getting the aircraft for “peanuts” after the millions spent on them.

It is also likely that instead of being flown that the Harriers will be broken up for spares despite having seven years of flying life left.

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Update #1: Report: Marines to harvest U.K. Harriers for spares -- DoD Buzz
Update #2: MoD denies sale of Harriers to US -- Defence Management
Update #3: Scrapping the Harriers is a disgrace -- Con Coughlin, The Telegraph

My Comment: The U.S. Marine Corps definitely knows a good deal when they see one.

How NOT To Fight A War

£75million risk: RAF Eurofighter Typhoon at Italian airbase in Gioia del Colle where the two pilots were based. They were found drunk in the nearby town hours before they were due to begin a bombing raid

Two RAF Pilots Flown Home In Disgrace After Being 'Found Drunk Hours Before Libya Raid' -- The Daily Mail

* Officers found at 6am near Italian base after flouting RAF's two-pint rule
* Nato to intensify fight with Gaddafi by delivering helicopters 'within days'
* Rebels make gains in Misrata and push conflict south to Sudanese border

Two RAF pilots have been sent home in disgrace amid claims they were found drunk just hours before they were due to fly on bombing mission Libya.

The officers from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire have been disciplined over their ‘inappropriate behaviour’ while waiting for action at an airbase in Italy.

It is believed the pair, who fly £75million Typhoon Eurofighters, were found almost paralytic at 6am on the main square in the historic town of Gioia del Colle, near their base.

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More News On Two RAF Pilots Being Disciplined For Drunkenness

RAF Top Guns found drunk in gutter at 6am before Libya raids -- The SUN
Two RAF pilots due for Libya missions sent back to UK after night's drinking -- The Guardian
Libya Typhoon pilots disciplinary case 'disappointing' -- BBC
Libya Typhoon pilots sent home after 'night out' -- BBC
2 British pilots have been sent back from NATO's Italy base for boozy misbehaviour -- Canadian Press
Typhoon pilots disciplined over drinking -- Defence Management

RAF Policy In the Past Was To 'Cure' Lesbian Recruits

Airwomen: Officers were warned about hockey players

Revealed: How RAF Tried To 'Cure' Lesbian Recruits... And Ordered Officers To Be On Lookout For Women Who Enjoyed Cricket -- The Daily Mail

Secret files have revealed how the RAF forced suspected lesbians to have medical treatment to ‘cure’ their ‘perversion’.

Newly-declassified documents show commanders were told to be alert to airwomen who played cricket or hockey, or spent a lot of time writing letters or telephoning to female comrades – seen as possible signs of attraction to other women.

Officers in the Women’s Royal Air Force (WRAF) were also discouraged from recruiting females with ‘masculine characteristics’.

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My Comment: Times have have certainly changed since then.

Why Buy The Jets When You Will Not Have The Pilots To Fly Them?

RAF Training Cuts Leave Typhoons Idle -- The Telegraph

The Royal Air Force's most advanced warplanes have been unable to drop bombs on Libyan targets because defence spending cuts mean that pilots are not fully trained, The Telegraph can disclose.

The Ministry of Defence announced last week that RAF Typhoons would drop bombs on Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's tanks and other ground targets.

But so far this has not happened, because the planes' pilots are not considered to be properly trained in ground attacks.

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My Comment: No planning. No foresight. No common sense. No Leadership. A perfect description of what the MoD and their political masters have done to Britain's Royal air force.

Navy RAF Pilots To Receive Nothing In Their Compensation Package. Airforce To Receive Everything

AV-8B Harrier II
Photo Credit: Boeing Photo

RAF Harrier Pilots Given £100,000 Pay-Off...But Their Navy Counterparts Will Receive Nothing -- The Daily Mail

A row has broken out over claims that sacked Harrier pilots in the RAF are being given payoffs of nearly £100,000 each – while their counterparts in the Navy receive nothing.

The jobs in both services are going as a result of the Government’s controversial decision to scrap Harrier jump jets as part of multi-billion-pound defence cuts.

Well-placed sources say there is a huge gulf in the packages offered to sacked pilots in the RAF and the Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm. RAF pilots are reportedly being offered 18 months’ pay plus a lump sum of £30,000. In some cases the total figure is close to £100,000.

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My Comment: Another example of the MoD bungling on an issue that should be clear cut.

The RAF Is Running Out Of Money

'If we are to meet the requirements laid upon us, there is no question that more investment will be needed to achieve that,' says Sir Stephen Dalton. Photograph: Felix Clay for the Guardian

RAF Stretched To Limit, Air Chief Warns -- The Guardian

Exclusive: Air Chief Marshal says it can cope with planned six months in Libya but extra cash required in 2014-15 review

The head of the RAF has issued a blunt warning that the service will need "genuine increases" in its budget over the coming years if it is to continue running the range of operations ministers demand.

In an interview with the Guardian, Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton said he was trying to protect the core of the RAF during a turbulent period of spending cuts and redundancies, but insisted ministers would have to sanction proper reinvestment.

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My Comment: Asking for money when there is none to give. But what I find is most troubling about this report is that the Libyan war is (in actual fact) a small scale conflict .... but the RAF still has money problems. What happens if there is a bigger conflict .... can the British (cough cough) afford it?

There Are Not Enough RAF Pilots For Libyan operations

A British Tornado GR4. AFP

Shortage Of RAF Pilots For Libya As Defence Budget Cuts Bite -- The Telegraph

The RAF risks running short of pilots for operations over Libya as cuts to the defence budget threaten to undermine front-line operations, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.

Since the conflict began, a squadron of 18 RAF Typhoon pilots has enforced the Libya no-fly zone from an air base in southern Italy. However, a shortage of qualified fighter pilots means the RAF may not have enough to replace all of them when the squadron has to rotate in a few weeks.

The situation is so serious that the RAF has halted the teaching of trainee Typhoon pilots so instructors can be drafted on to the front line, according to air force sources. The handful of pilots used for air shows will also be withdrawn from displays this summer.

The shortage has arisen because cuts to the defence budget over the past decade have limited the number of pilots who have been trained to fly the new Typhoon.

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My Comment: This is what happens when you go to war on a budget .... and for Britain they are now at the edge.

Meet Britain's Lone Typhoon Pilot Over Libya

Safe home: Typhoon aircraft are serviced during the night at the Italian base after a mission over Libya

Our Ace In The Pack: Lone British Female Typhoon Pilot Takes To Skies To Keep Up The Pressure On Colonel Gaddafi -- The Daily Mail

* Unnamed woman one of just ten maintaining no-fly zone over Libya

They say there are no prima donnas among the RAF’s Typhoon Top Guns.

But there is one who is arguably a lot better looking than the rest.

Her hair blowing back in the airfield breeze, this is Britain’s first woman Typhoon pilot, Flight Lieutenant Helen Seymour, about to take off on her debut combat mission.

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My Comment: For a women to be this successful in this male dominated filed .... she must be one hell of a pilot.

The Coming Sack Of RAF Trainee Pilots

Quarter Of RAF Trainee Pilots To Be Sacked In Defence Spending Cull -- The Telegraph

A quarter of RAF trainee pilots are to be sacked in a cost-cutting cull that threatens to leave the Armed Forces short of airmen, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.

Up to 100 student pilots will be told the news on Tuesday with some of them only a few hours away from becoming fully qualified to fly fighters, helicopters and transport aircraft.

The cuts will mean the waste of an estimated £300million already paid for training the pilots, plus the cost of redundancies. The training of RAF pilots can cost up to £4million a man.

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My Comment:

The End Of The Nimrod Project

Broken: a Nimrod lies in pieces after demolition work began on the aircraft at BAE Systems Woodford airfield in Cheshire Photo: BBC

Nimrod: A Sorry Saga With A Messy Ending -- The Telegraph

The decision to scrap the Nimrod project has caused uproar among defence chiefs, but something had to go, says Michael Clarke.

There can be few images more damaging to defence planning than bulldozers cutting off the wings of a new, hi-tech aircraft just a year before it was due to go into service. The Nimrod Maritime Reconnaissance Aircraft (the MRA4) has become a classic in the annals of defence controversy. The programme is £800 million over budget, nine years late, and has now been cancelled in the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR), in order to save around £2 billion over the next decade.

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My Comment: The Nimrod story should serve as a poster child for all future politicians, managers, strategists, and planners on how not to do a military project.

U.K. Security At Risk If The RAF's Nimrod Fleet Is Scrapped

The Government is determined to plough on with the destruction of the Nimrod, saying it will save £2 billion over the next decade.

Scrapping The RAF's £4bn Nimrod Fleet 'Risks UK Security' -- The Telegraph

The scrapping of the RAF’s £4 billion fleet of Nimrod surveillance aircraft will create a “massive security gap”, the country’s leading military figures have warned.

In an open letter to the Daily Telegraph, former defence chiefs from all three services say the decision to destroy nine MRA4 Nimrods to save money is “perverse” and could cause serious long-term damage to the country’s interests.

The protest over the Government’s decision in last year’s Strategic Defence and Spending Review to destroy what is regarded as a vital part of the country’s defences comes as private demolition contractors hired by the Ministry of Defence began breaking up the aircraft.

Former military chiefs believe that without the Nimrod’s surveillance technology, the country will be dangerously exposed.

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More News On Concerns Of Scrapping The Nimrod Fleet

Nimrod loss 'leaves massive gap' -- Press Association
Scrapping RAF Nimrods 'perverse' say military chiefs -- BBC
Nimrod Jets Dismantled To Save Money -- SKY News
£4bn Nimrod spy planes that have never been used head for scrapheap -- Mirror News
£445m EACH to build, £200m to scrap: The RAF's Nimrod jets that barely left the runway -- The Daily Mail
Nimrod scrapping condemned as 'barbaric vandalism' -- BBC

New RAF Helmet Allows Pilots To Shoot Down Enemy Jets By Looking At Them

How it works: The £250,000 'Striker' Integrated Display Helmet allows RAF pilots to shoot down planes simply by looking at them. As long as the enemy's aircraft is in sight, a missile can be directed towards it

The Ultimate Death Stare: New RAF Helmet Allows Pilots To Shoot Down Enemy Jets By Looking At Them -- The Daily Mail

* Pilot can glance at an aircraft he wants to fire a missile at by using his mind

It looks no more high-tech than any other fighter pilot helmet.

But this £250,000 headset allows RAF pilots to shoot down planes simply by looking at them.

The ‘Striker’ Integrated Display Helmet marks one of the biggest leaps forward in attack capabilities in military history.

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My Comment: Impressive technology .... but there will be few if any British planes flying around after all the budget cuts have been enacted.

The End Of An Era In British Military Aviation

Last flight? The Cold War Vulcan bomber may not take to the skies again, unless its owners can raise £400,000 by the end of October

Last Vulcan Flies Into The Unknown: Iconic Cold War Plane Will Be Grounded Unless Owners Can Raise £400,000 -- The Daily Mail

Soaring into the sky with its engines booming, this may be the mighty Cold War Vulcan bomber making its last flight.

The former RAF bomber, the last airworthy plane of its type, is shown at an airshow at Coventry Airport in aid of the Help for Heroes military charity at the weekend.

But the plane - which was in active service from 1960 to 1984 and is one of the greatest achievements of British aerospace-engineering - will not be able to fly again unless its owners raise £400,000 by the end of October for costly maintenance to ensure it passes safety tests.

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My Comment: Sad .... and truly an end to an era.

New RAF Museum Plans Vast Monument To The Battle Of Britain

RAF Museum Plans Vast Monument To Battle Of Britain -- Times Online

Mentioned alongside landmarks such as St Paul’s Cathedral and the Palace of Westminster, the Beacon of Hendon may sound incongruous. But the London suburb previously notable for its proximity to the M1 and the police college is to have a monument that will dominate the skyline.

In a project to rival Angel of the North in scale, the Royal Air Force Museum is proposing a 116m (350ft) tribute to the Battle of Britain.

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More news On The Proposed New RAF Museum

£80m Battle of Britain monument plan unveiled -- BBC
Residents cool to Battle of Britain tower -- UPI
Giant 380ft beacon planned to commemorate Battle of Britain -- The Telegraph
Dogfight in Hendon over huge £85m Battle of Britain memorial -- London Evening Standard
"Beacon" WWII Monument Proposed For Hendon -- Londonist
Plans unveiled for monument to battle of Britain -- Press Association

RAF Future: No Fast Jets But Propeller Aircraft

RAF Urged To Cut ‘Cold War’ New Jets For Cheap Propeller Aircraft -- Times Online

The RAF is under pressure to cut its multibillion-pound orders for fast jets in favour of cheaper propeller aircraft as part of a review of defence spending. The suggestion, from General Sir David Richards, has ignited a debate that pitches the head of the Army against his opposite numbers in the other two Services.

General Richards, Chief of the General Staff, believes that the Super Tucano offers a cost-effective alternative to fast jets such as the Cold War-era Eurofighter Typhoon in counter-insurgency operations such as those in Afghanistan. Resembling something from the Second World War, a Super Tucano costs about £5 million, a fraction of the £60 million estimated cost of the F35 Joint Strike Fighter ordered for the Royal Navy’s new aircraft carriers or the £67 million of a Typhoon.

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Update: Low and Slow for the RAF -- New Wars

My Comment: These planes will have a greater impact on today's counter insurgency wars than multi-billion dollar jets .... better to fight the wars that you have than the wars that may be.