The Brunei project

[charlie_c67]

As some of you may be aware, my two entries for the recent Whif group build were a pair of Hornets, or Yellowjackets, who were operated by the RAF in Brunei providing protection for the small rich kingdom along the same lines as that found in Belize. My fertile (odd?) imagination then rocketed to create several flights as the role and history expanded. This, along with two other on-going ideas, are part of my post '45 world that is reasonably integrated. More on them later. So, to set the scene...

Brunei had been a British Protectorate since 1888 after internal strife over succession followed by threat of expansion by the kingdom of Sarawak encroaching onto established territory. This allowed Britain to control the countries foreign affairs amongst other things, yet resulted in the country maintaining its separate identity when the federated states of Malaysia were formed in 1963, an event that resulted in the Malay-Indonesian confrontation between '63 and '66. So far, so real life.

In my world, the conflict frightened the populace enough to insist on a permanent British armed presence to ensure independence was maintained. Due to the politicians wishing to withdraw British forces west of Suez, the resultant agreement was rather unique in that Brunei would pay for the aircraft maintenance and ordnance, whilst the RAF would provide the staff. The agreement was reached with the view that the small force would be handed back to the Brunei people after 30 years. The British politicians and various weapons manufacturers then lobbied hard to ensure that as much custom came to the UK, at the risk of upsetting the other big players in the area, namely the US and China. However, due to the difficulties of shipping weapons from Europe to South East Asia, calmer heads prevailed and the majority of weaponry was purchased from the more readily source on the US, which was beginning to get into its stride in Vietnam.

In 1964 the first two flights formed, one Air defence and one Ground attack. Due to the Spartan nature of the airfield they required robust, easily maintained, simple aircraft. What they got was two versions of the the Gnat, both of which will be covered in this thread at a later date. To assist with the deployment of troops on the ground, a third flight was created equipped with two transport aircraft and two Helicopters to provide a small SAR service in the area.

Following the Indo-Malay conflict, it was recognised that a further flight of each type would be required, both being formed in 1968. Since there was a large abundance of American hardware across the South China Sea, the decision was taken to purchase a number of aircraft from the US to assist with maintaining good relations. The US for there part were glad to have the support of the Commonwealth watching their back as things had become progressively worse on the Asian mainland.

The Vietnam war brought another set of problems to the area with a large rise in piracy, particularly groups linked to communist forces who attacked Bruneian Oil tankers to sell the product on the black market. This led to the creation of a sixth flight, solely aimed at maritime attack and two years after, another flight equipped with two ex-BOAC Super VC-10's which were converted into tankers on the back of the RAF order, aimed at extending patrol times. In between the two, a final flight was created in response to the lack of reconnaissance overflights in the area and the concern of Indonesian infiltration, one that was proven true in the 1980's.

Throughout this time, the build up of forces in the area had not gone unnoticed by the Communist nations. China, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia all lodged complaints with the UN about a foreign force based on Brunei soil, which were all thrown out due to the nature of Brunei's relationship with the U.K. Despite this, there were still calls in London for the force to be handed over early and allow a relinquishment of duties in the area, something fiercely opposed by those in Brunei. The USSR, on the other hand saw this as a golden opertunity to expand its sphere of influence as well as remove another potential ally for China. Having suffered several border clashes over the years as well as enduring a split in the communist parties, Moscow say this as a way to give China a bigger worry in its own backyard. During 1975, the diplomatic corps made great overtures to the Sultan, promising many things in exchange for oil deliveries to the point that later that year, the first MiG-21's arrived from the HAL plant in India. Unfortunately for the negotiators, either by oversight or mis-translation, nothing was agreed on who would actually by flying or maintaining the equipment sent. It was realised too late what the implications were and ultimately led to a massive review and restructuring of the Soviet diplomatic corps. Despite this, the aircraft were duly delivered, perhaps rather grudgingly, and parts supplied for several years. The event also hammered home to UK and. Commonwealth politicians what could be lost had sharper minds been sent to conclude the deal and soon opposition forces to the force fell silent.

In the mid 80's, the flights were heavily involved in both War of the Java Sea and the aftermath that followed as the country of Indonesia fell apart into several feuding domains, each ruled by a warlord. During the post conflict review, it was felt that several of the aircraft used during the conflict were now no longer suitable for their roles. This lead to several of the flights receiving new equipment in short order as the new territory was subsumed into Brunei and the role of the flights altered to accomadate this. They were also required to take part in the peacekeeping no-fly zone as the former Indonesian territory of Kalimantan transferred to Malaysian control.

Today, the eight flights are well maintained with some of the most up to date equipment available. This is particularly important due to the continuing fall out from the disintegration of Indonesia to the south, coupled with the expansionist policies of China to the north. They are also heavily involved in the multi-national anti-piracy initiative in the area and may often be found supporting troops and ships involved in reducing attacks. Flying mainly European and American craft, the force currently has no plans to expand, but is seen as an excellent source of experience for serving RAF crews, most of whom will serve at least one secondment to the area.

Tomorrow...details about the first flight I hope to complete :-)

Edited July 19, 2016 by charlie_c67

[wyverns4]

and at the ready!

I know Brunei well having served out there; lovely country and people.

Christian, exiled to the armpit of the globe

[raptormodeller]

Nice backstory, but no GR.3 TSR2's converted to an ASW or asymetric anti shipping warfare.

[Cookenbacher]

That's an incredibly well thought out, and fun to read, backstory. Looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

[charlie_c67]

No need for the Eagle's Raptor, the RAF were already using them out of RAF Labuan as part of the peace keeping force in Northern Borneo ...

Perhaps I should add this will be the collecting point for the history and completed aircraft of the project, hopefully it won't be too long between up dates!

So, the first flight? That'd perhaps unsurprisingly be Flt 2749 as I've already completed two of its mounts and have just got two left to make. Here is a more detailed history.

There has always been piracy in the South China Sea, traditionally a threat countered with a strong navy. However, as the Vietnam war drew to a close and the communist threat grew in area, piracy increased against shipping from a variety of countries. The prize targets for the pirates were the oil tankers that regularly plied their trade from Brunei. As the attacks increased and became more violent, a tri-national group was set up consisting of Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines. This soon expanded to include the UK, the US and Singapore and ranged from Maritime patrol to attacks on pirate bases. For the Brunei contingent, Flight 2749 was created in 1974 armed with four Hunter Mk.82's, a development of the T.7 which was converted to an anti-shipping platform. Initially armed with rocket pods or dumb bombs, they were upgraded the following year to carry AGM-65 Mavericks and a limited number were retained for larger and harder targets. These provided sterling service, often working in tandem with Singaporean Sea Harriers and hitting several of the larger pirate bases found on the Koh Kong coast.

In 1978, as part of the Russian agreement, the aircraft were "upgraded" to the Sukhoi Su-20, known as the Fitter FGR.1, and the Hunters used as trainers for the fledgling Bruneian air force. Initially the Fitter's performed well, having a higher top speed and greater range with a similar bomb load to the aircraft they had replaced. However, in the early 80's the spare parts required were delivered intermittently before drying up completely by 1983 and despite the best efforts of RAF engineers to replace the parts with Western equivalents, they ultimately failed in keeping a good level of serviceability. Even now it is unclear why this happened, though at the time there was a very public opinion that spite on the part of the Soviets at not gaining the deal they wished played a large part. However, in more recent times it has become clear that the border conflicts with China had been greater and more vicious in scope than either country would admit. Therefore it is more likely that Soviet needs were prioritised over its export customers which resulted in some countries, such as Brunei, moving on to a more secure source of equipment. Due to this gap the Hunters were re-introduced in to active service in 1985 after undergoing an engine and avionics upgrade carried out by the CAC in Australia. These updated aircraft worked alongside the Fitters for the latter's final year in service and were also used extensively during the Chinese backed War of the Java Sea which started in 1986.

As part of the post conflict review, the decision was taken to upgrade the facilities used by Flt 2749 to allow it to be equipped with more modern, capable aircraft. In 1989 the first BAe/Northrop Yellowjacket FRS.1's were introduced, giving a much greater strike ability than had previously been available, something that was a boon when the infamous Chanthaburi Pirates managed to hijack a Petya-class frigate of the Vietnamese Navy. Armed with some of the first Harpoon missiles in the inventory, a two ship detachment first hunted down and the sank the missing ship after failed several attempts to board and retake her. The aircraft performed solidly, despite some misgivings about the lack of range compared to some, until being replaced in 2002 by the Yellowjacket FA.2. With the increase in territory, and consequently the increase in territorial waters to patrol, the long delayed increase in range has been particularly welcome. This is in addition to the ability for airborne refueling, a surprising oversight by the usually adroit military planners in Brunei. There was speculation that the RAF advisers had hoped to acquire several Mako S.2's to replace the Hunters, but were instead given the Yellowjacket to assist with aircraft production in Australia. Whatever the truth, all staff took the new aircraft with great gusto, hardly a surprise considering their previous mounts had been a 1950's design.

Flight 2749, known as "The Titans" to the Brunei people, continues to provide a vital service in the area and, with the renewal of the Britain-Brunei defence treaty, look to continue in the role well on into the new century. As the pirates in the area gain access to higher levels of technology and an increasingly belligerent China attempts to dominate the area, the flight must diversify and upgrade to meet these modern threats, the introduction of JDAM and Paveway IV is seen as a necessity to reduce collateral damage as far as possible, while retaining the ability to hit hard and fast.

Edited July 10, 2016 by charlie_c67

[charlie_c67]

Below are some pictures of the Yellowjacket FA.2 which is currently in service.

Yellowjacket FA.2

In 2001 RAFSEAC reviewed the aircraft under their command based in Brunei. Whilst having no direct control over the procurement process, they were at least able to indicate when they believed replacements were required and were allowed to highlight what would be required from the resultant winner. Since servicing was carried out in good but basic airfields, the top brass in the Brunei military preferred low maintenance craft to reduce the reliance on a long supply chains. However, since Australia had a local production agreement for the F/A-18 Hornet, it was decided that this would reduce the risk of a delays in part replacement. When in 2002 it was decided to replace the FRS.1 Yellowjacket, the natural progression was to move on to the Super Hornet which became known as the FA.2 Yellowjacket. Although there was the option to upgrade the existing aircraft, the increase in range and payload was too good an opportunity to pass. Other aircraft were also considered, including further FGR.3 Falcons, the SU-24, Rafale and HAL Tejas, but all dropped out for a variety of reasons.

In service with the BrAF/RAF, the FA.2 is able to carry a wide variety of Commonwealth and American weaponary and, unlike the FRS.1, is able to be re-fueled by the countries tankers, extending its range even further. Since the flight is involved with the multi-country anti-piracy initiative, this increase in range has been seen as an essential upgrade and, in conjunction with Harriers in the Singapore Navy, resulted in the destrucion of several previously well established bases of pirate operations. For such a small country, Brunei's military is extremely well armed due to the threat from the former Indonesia in the south (much reduced since the country split apart), China in the north and the constant threat of pirates, keen to attack the many oil tankers that ply their trade through the South China Sea. As a result it is not unknown for the Commonwealth and America to offer more advanced equipment than may be an option elsewhere due to the need to punch above its weight. This has lead to 2749's craft having the capability to carry the latest versions of the Harpoon and HARM missiles. The SEAD role was previously covered by the various RAF Squadrons that were rotated out to the SEAC, but after it was discovered that the more established pirate groups were acquiring radar to give them advance warning of potential attacks, Military chiefs decided that this would be an area that needed to be addressed.

In a break with what seems to be military convention, the flight have moved from a single shade of low vis grey to a disruptive scheme once again after it was realised that this often made it harder for the aircraft to be observed at low level over the sea.

Edited July 11, 2016 by charlie_c67

[charlie_c67]

Further back in time to the early 90's and a loaded FRS.1 ready to go out on a mission.

Yellowjacket FRS.1

After a brief, disastrous flirtation with Soviet hardware in the form of the Su-20, it was decided to purchase 6 F/A-18's, of which two would be twin seaters, to replace the re-invigorated but ageing Hunters. Since production had switched to the C/D variants, the order was piggy-backed onto the USN/USM order to take advantage of a lower unit cost as well as assisting the struggling CAC company in Australia that would provide the necessary spare parts. The first aircraft was delivered in 1989 along with a limited number of Harpoon anti-shipping missiles, something considered essential after the AGM-65 Mavericks used during the Second Indonesian Conflict didn't cause as much damage as first hoped against larger vessels.

Since they were technically in the service of the RAF, the aircraft became known as the Yellowjacket FRS.1 and wer initially painted in all over EDSG with a black radome. The continuation of the flight had again been called into question during the mid 80's, as UK Politicians considered ending the arrangement and handing them over to the Brunei forces in their entirety. However, the second invasion by Indonesia, coupled with the expansionist policy of communist China in the South China sea, persuaded policy makers against such a move. This decision was questioned at the time, but exonerated when the civil war in Indonesia spilled over its borders as the country fractured in the wake of its defeat.