Anonymity limited to my Twitter handle. If curious just drop me a DM, I don't hide who I am. Or google A2&i. Of the two names you'll find, I'm the ugly bloke!
@EvacTony
Too scared, even, to show your face? Any town centre can be intimidating - if you're minded to be scared. Reading on Sunday was full of shouty, sweary youths, but to be fair, it was the white ones who were most 'in your face' & the coloured ones far more circumspect & respectful.
@clark_aviation
In the early 80s, when I was very young and callow, working for Stan Morse's Aerospace Publishing on partwork magazines, an elderly chap visited our office to take us to task on our article on the Connie. Why hadn't we mentioned the fact that it was a Fairey design, he asked? /1
@chinnychick
@JohnnyMercerUK
"Fred Thomas, one of five children born to a civil servant and a teacher, was a pupil at the top public school Winchester college before reading religion, politics and ethics at King’s College London."
Very relatable...
@Tobias_Ellwood
How do we take you seriously when you misspell Tucano and don't appear to realise that the Tucano and Super Tucano are different aircraft?
@clark_aviation
We gave him a cup of tea, listened to him, & made all the right noises. We obviously weren't good at humouring elderly gents, as he returned the following week with an ancient looking briefcase. Turns out he'd been a manager at Fairey pre-war, & had drawings, letters etc. /2
BAE finally confirms that the prototype Radar Two has been fitted to a Typhoon. This event took place late last year - on 1 November, in fact, which is when these photos were taken. A2&i understands that July is the likely FF date.
@TheKnotUnites
@barnes_east
Lockdales (the auctioneers) say: "Thank you for your message. This item has been withdrawn while we are looking into the matter.
Kind regards,
Lockdales"
@clark_aviation
Which indicated that the project had been passed/sold to Lockheed. It wasn't the kind of thing we could publish in a partwork, but we gave him the names & contact details of folk at Aircraft Illustrated & Aeroplane Monthly. I suspect he died before he could contact them. /3
@edwardstrngr
@FT
Should we not now be urging the US to agree to a PoBIT/F-16V upgrade for Ukraine's F-16s to give them the AESA radar that would actually provide a qualitative edge?
@edwardkeyjf
@thinkdefence
Not strictly accurate. Replica was a non-flying LO technology demonstrator one of whose prime purposes was to demonstrate our suitability to be a 'top table' participant in what became JSF. It also fed into FOAS (abandoned) and then FCAS.
@TalkTV
@PhilipIngMBE
@TVKev
@ThatAlexWoman
To allow the protest at all on 11/11 is, in my view, both unwise, and expecting it to be allowed is an unreasonable expectation by the putative organisers. There are 52 weekends in a year, this is one that ought to be sacrosanct. I don't always endorse
@PhilipIngMBE
/1
@The_Trump_Train
When the Republican options for President seem to be Trump or DeSantis, one:
a) prays for a Democrat victory
b) shakes one's head in genuine sadness at what the GOP has become
c) wonders fruitlessly where this generation's McCain is?
@Gabriel64869839
@Gabriel64869839
- for the first time in my 63 years, I would say that for defence at least, Labour offer a more compelling plan than the Tories. I say that as someone who, until today, voted Conservative (or abstained) in every General Election (albeit often holding my nose).
@TheBenToth
@DarthPutinKGB
That tweet marks you out as being both a fool, and an utterly loathsome tool of the Russians. Władysław Anders was a true Polish hero.
@possiblynotgod
@JamesCleverly
300 miles at the closest point. Never administered by or settled by Argentina. British for more than 200 years and with a population who have expressed their wish to remain so by referendum. This really isn't rocket science. /1
@nicholadrummond
This is not a good take, Nick. The Tempest will not be a 'strike aircraft', it will be multi role, optimised for air to air. Its size will be driven by the size of the internal weapons bays (for LO) & the range requirement - which will require significant internal fuel. /1
@scottiebateman
The four retractable headlamp grilles on the Montreal, which retract when the lights are switched on were a "compromise Gandini had to make to meet regulations for the height of headlamps in certain markets." The prototype had fixed glass 'windows' in the bonnet leading edge.
@maz_jovanovich
America: “There’s no way to prevent this.”
UK: “We had this horrific mass shooting in 1987. The massacre led to the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988, which banned the ownership of semi-automatic rifles and restricted shotguns with a magazine capacity of more than 2 rounds. /1
@EvacTony
Just a way of differentiating within a tight Twitter limit. The point is that the youths of African, Afro-Caribbean, Arabic and Asian origin weren't shouting the f-word, and seemed a whole lot more wholesome than some of the white ones.
@EylonALevy
Israel is NOT an "essential UK ally." Unless and until it withdraws its illegal settlements and commits to a two state solution it's an irritant and a potential problem for our relationships with our real, long-standing allies in the region.
@CalumDouglas1
@bigseb31213
@whatismoo
Not only were they "Not very much superior", they were inferior. My Dad flew the B-24 operationally (Coastal) and then the Lancaster, Lincoln, Halifax & B-17 post war (RAE Weapons Flight) and rated the Lancaster as the best pilot's aircraft, and the Lincoln as best operationally.
@Hush_Kit
They have done - the more recent configurations do look much less 'Pregnant Pelican-like' - especially the one at last year's Farnborough (Concept 5) - with P189-17B for comparison.
@orenbarsky
The Arab majority were offered a non-contiguous minority of the territory of the former Palestine, while the "alien European newcomers" (that's how they were seen) were given a larger and 'better' share. Small wonder that they chose to fight against that.
@JohnFiliss
@TheRestHistory
1) 2014 wasn't a coup
2) Russia murdered plenty of Ukrainians in Donbas
3) NATO is a defensive alliance which all are free to join
4) Ukraine gave up nuclear weapons in return for security guarantees from Russia. In retrospect that now looks pretty foolish...
@redhistorian
@RoryStewartUK
I want an elite that supports COVID jabs and lockdowns that protect the vulnerable. I’d trust Lineker, Maitlis and Snow, who seem like fundamentally decent sorts, more than I trust most Government ministers. /2
@CalumDouglas1
@bigseb31213
@whatismoo
If you're facing (for example) a cannon-armed Bf110G with a mix of 20-mm and 30-mm cannon, it doesn't much matter whether you have 0.303 in or 0.50 in defensive machine guns. The bastard attacking you can still stand off out of effective range and pump HE into you.
You’re looking at Canada’s new multi-mission aircraft.
Thank you, Government of Canada, for selecting up to 16
#P8
Poseidon aircraft for the
@RCAF_ARC
. Together with our Canadian industry P-8 partners, we'll continue to deliver prosperity to Canada.
More:
@TroelsHalken
@GarethJennings3
1) No. Having Japan on board GCAP is invaluable.
2) Not possible to merge. Dassault know only how to do it alone, and not how to collaborate.
Paul Wilde, BAE's head of Tempest and Air Cdre Martin Lowe, FCAS Programme Director briefing Osborne, Jennings, Robinson, Hoyle and Lake on the UK's new Crewed Combat Air Demonstrator... clearly a long day for
@GarethJennings3
?
@danny44411
@mercer_felicity
@mercer_felicity
has 23,000 followers, and is widely regarded as being charming, witty, kind and funny, even by many of those who don't share her or her husband's politics. Whereas you...
@shashj
I have a few lovely Turkish friends - all educated, all Middle Class, all Westernised, all heirs to Kemal Attaturk's revolution.
All are deeply saddened and depressed by this result, and all suspect foul play.
Yesterday’s visit to Warton persuaded me that money is being spent very wisely on Tempest/GCAP, & that it will be developed in a manner that is unprecedented in its rapidity & frugality.
I hope that
@FTusa284
will be along to pour cold water on Justin’s financial assumptions. /2
@haynesdeborah
Too few people heard
@Edwardstrngr
say that: "we should be thinking through what we have to do to bolster our warfighting capacity as an act of deterrence because what will make War more likely is if we come across as people who aren't really prepared, /2
I hope that this will be VERY widely reposted - correcting the narrative for Sgt Major Booley, who sounds like a thoroughly good egg. If he reads this, perhaps he'll realise that the media is not entirely made up of muck-raking scandal mongers.
Post by Michael J Booley
I WANT THE TRUTH TO BE KNOWN. THIS POST IS PUBLIC, PLEASE SHARE MY COMMENTS FAR AND WIDE TO THE BELOW ARTICLE IN ORDER TO EXPOSE THE DELIBERATE
DECEPTION BY THE PRESS !
I am Michael Booley, Harry's former Sgt Major flying instructor, quoted in this
@nicholadrummond
That's the most positive review I've read. I'm afraid my own would be much less positive. A good looking film, for sure, but absolute bilge.
@NavyLookout
"A highly controversial and implacable critic of the RAF," is to understate the extent of his spittle-flecked ranting, and the sheer blinkered lunacy of most of what he espoused. He was also critical of anyone who wasn't him (or on his squadron), and prone to exaggeration. /1
@nicholadrummond
How are they going to do that without the full panoply of Western air power enablers and infrastructure,
@nicholadrummond
? How are F-16s with inferior radar range and shorter-range BVRAAMs going to do much more against Su-30s and Su-35s than Ukraine's MiG-29s can do?
@Midshipnews
@CovertShores
@UKikaski
Mostly right. Anadolu was originally optimized for use with only helicopters, before plans changed and a fully equipped flight deck with ski-jump was added (after the ship had been laid down) to allow ops by F-35B STOVL aircraft. Then, as you say...
@pinstripedline
@FTusa284
The fact that FT gave evidence to HCDC merely serves to underline his credentials and credibility, and does not indicate that he has some kind of conflict of interest. An anonymous account, however, has no such credibility, nor any guarantee of impartiality or lack of 'interest'.
@edwardkeyjf
@thinkdefence
We don't yet know what Tempest looks like, because that decision has not yet been made, and the design has not been frozen.
I don't know what "They certianly let it know" means?
@nicholadrummond
Actually,
@nicholadrummond
, the F-35 is a pretty terrible aeroplane, coming from a terrible programme, with appalling support & sustainment costs, & very poor availability BUT it is an aircraft with a uniquely useful capability, making it the king of the battlespace - for now.
@Monty79840561
@PrisonPlanet
This kind of bollocks undermines a serious point. Black people did not achieve much in Medieval England (they weren't significantly present) but achieved much of significance in Africa - including Egypt. Denying that, & painting them as worthless just makes you look racist.
@gregbagwell
Greg Bagwell got to the top in a career in which I failed to get beyond the first couple of rungs of the ladder. He is, plainly a very high calibre bloke indeed, and if he is saying this, that encourages me:
1) to listen
2) to wind my neck in
@RAeSTimR
@edwardstrngr
"The veneer of a frontline force..." Ouch! What an effortlessly effective and graceful communicator
@edwardstrngr
is, and what a quietly compelling description of where we are at.
@nicholadrummond
Hardly. Typhoon was always designed as a swing role fighter, replacing Phantom, Jaguar, etc. These missions (delivering PGMs against tactical targets) are exactly what it was designed for. Only the range is outside what we might have expected.
@simonmontefiore
@stuartroxy
Zionism is a political entity, not an ethnic or national identity. It would be like saying that the US should be 'de-Republicaned' or that the UK should be 'deToried'? Calling for 'de-Zionisation' is many things but is not implicitly or explicitly genocidal. And in fairness /1
Happy Christmas to one and all, and wishing you a healthy, prosperous and peaceful 2024.
(I'll bet that
@edwardstrngr
and
@mike_sooty
never flew a Jag as pretty as this one!)
@UKDefJournal
On the one hand, I can see how tempting it must be to counter the vile propaganda shovelled by Mr Gordon-Banks, but on the other, aren't you just giving him more exposure (which he so obviously craves).
And doesn't the old saying about mud wrestling with a pig apply?
@pinstripedline
Replaced by expanding A400M availability.
Keeping the C-130Js would not have been without a heavy manpower and engineering cost, and was the right decision.
@chinnychick
@JohnnyMercerUK
I shouldn't be so negative. He will at least be educated and articulate, unlike so many of the Labour front bench. Can't see him going down well at conference where they seem to love the working class thicko thuggishness of La Rainer.
@an0nygir1
@4noura
Every metre of land not allocated to Israel under the mandate is effectively 'occupied'. Hundreds of Palestinians have been forced from their land, sometimes in the face of massacres that were every bit as brutal and barbaric as the terrible, inexcusable events of October 7. /1
@PhilipIngMBE
@Peston
Problem: It will look like intervention on the Israeli side.
Solution: ALSO do something to underline UK disapproval of IDF tactics and indiscriminate targeting in Gaza.
@SkyNews
Quite apart from being 'spot on' with his analysis, how impressive is it that he should be able to deliver such a searing indictment in such beautifully constructed and near flawless English. A class act from a valued ally.
@an0nygir1
@4noura
Israel took the West Bank (from Jordan) by force of arms in 1967. That seizure is not recognised, and all settlement on it is illegal. Israel is in contravention of numerous UN resolutions. Israel has failed to abide by the commitments it made at Oslo, in 1993. /2
@RAeSTimR
@FTusa284
@thinkdefence
FCAS is the overall system of systems - Germany could indeed make a great contribution to this. GCAP is the core manned platform that sits within FCAS. Japan is in GCAP, but not FCAS. Germany could perhaps usefully be a contributor to FCAS but not GCAP?
@indiannomad_97
@beverstine
The A330? What? How can you suggest such an outlandish idea? You want the USAF to buy a proven tanker that carries 18 tonnes more fuel (19% more), and that needs a shorter balanced field length than the KC-46? That has won every truly open competition it has been in?
@pinstripedline
The brief was to buy three cases of inexpensive but drinkable wine for the mess.
The Army provided three Port bottles full of vinegar.
The RAF brought a half bottle of very good red.
The Navy persuaded someone to fund 24 bottles of Champagne.
I'm really pleased with my piece on the PAL P-6, (&, in passing, on the Bombardier CMMA and Saab Swordfish). Are platforms like these, with 360° AESA radar, MAD, & more buoys than a P-8 the future? Air International is on sale now...
@RoyalAirForce
@stuartroxy
@PALaerospace
@Hush_Kit
It had MAD, a better radar than P-8, and carried more weapons and buoys. Without the Nimrod name (XV230 made that irrevocably toxic) and airworthiness issues it would have been a great sub-hunter. /1
I'm not a fan of 'Irish' Joe, who is patently too old to be fulfilling the position of President. But beside Trump he seems like the perfect President.
@shashj
Even if we believe Israel's sources I believe we're focusing on the wrong metric - PGM rather than 'low collateral damage weapon'. In urban environments, using 2,000-lb JDAMs 'ticks the PGM box' but isn't 'discriminate' nor does it minimise civilian casualties/ collateral damage.
@scottyeders
Lovely aircraft. I loved flying the 4, despite the seat position. It did not flatter my flying abilities, but I loved it all the same, & I've never been more pleased to fly through my own 'wake' in a loop! I also had lots of fun in B2/TT18/E15/T19.
@Gabriel64869839
The money spent on Typhoon has earned the UK a fortune, kept high value engineering jobs, and given the RAF seven frontline squadrons equipped with a world class fighter aircraft. Not bad!