Jump to content

T1 Tiffie's going operational at last


Gary West

Recommended Posts

Meaning...they've been on the drawing board in one form or another for the last 25 years and they just seem to be old type airframe technology. Things like the cool electronics in them will be ok but the rest of it is another design by comittee isn't it?...not trying to start any kind of war here but they just seem outdated already...things like the Gripen and Rafale have been operational foe years and here we are just catching up?

Ha Ha gave 2 F-15's a scare a year ago

yeah and the F-15 is coming to the end of it's operational service, so they SHOULD have scared them witless!!!...:)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mind you bit of a subject change here

I read something somewhere about the F22

I think it was done as by the RAAF ,

They were compearing the F-22 vs FA-18 vs SU27 or 33

They didn't seem very Impressed with the Raptor

Did any of you see this article

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There again could be the F-35 they were on about

:rolleyes: Some people will moan about anything new given the opportunity... remember the fuss about the F-18 replacing the F-14? To hear some of them talk, they'd rather keep the outdated F-14 and have their pilots blown out of the sky by the next generation enemy jets, JUST because they like the plane... :doh:

I suspect that the F-22 won't be rubbish after all the money they spent on it, somehow... same for the F-35, although it's taking an age to come through, which seems to be the way for modern jets. Better that than unleash a buggy, untested jet on the unsuspecting pilots though, I suppose.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

...things like the Gripen and Rafale have been operational foe years and here we are just catching up?

I think the Rafale went into operational use around the same time as the Typhoon - certainly not years earlier and the development timescales were roughly the same (France was considered to join the Eurofighter programme but as usual.....)

Didn't know if you meant the Typhoon or the T1 itself - I suppose at the end of the day any fighter can only really be measured on it's performance in a war or exercise scenario, and it's probably a bit early for that. Just nice to see the RAF at last has a fighter that offer great agility as well as speed and power.

although it's taking an age to come through, which seems to be the way for modern jets. Better that than unleash a buggy, untested jet on the unsuspecting pilots though, I suppose.

I agree - although there is still tension in the world, we no longer have the Cold war threat pushing for "in service" asap dates.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Meaning...they've been on the drawing board in one form or another for the last 25 years and they just seem to be old type airframe technology. Things like the cool electronics in them will be ok but the rest of it is another design by comittee isn't it?...not trying to start any kind of war here but they just seem outdated already...things like the Gripen and Rafale have been operational foe years and here we are just catching up?

yeah and the F-15 is coming to the end of it's operational service, so they SHOULD have scared them witless!!!...:)

So how long do you think it took to develop the F-22? The Typhoon may 'only' be a fourth generation fighter but in the real world that is hardly likely to make any difference. I read somewhere on ARC (IIRC) that Waco had found it was possible to defeat the Raptor with an F-15 - so much for the most expensive fighter technology ever! I have seen the Typhoon performing a couple of times and it seems to go and handle as advertised. I'm sure RAF pilots are pleased with their new toy and will be confident that they can deal with any threat that comes their way.

peebeep

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was talking about the Teabag ingeneral not the two seat in particular but I agree with you on that one: twin-stick does look a lot sharper than the single seat one.

as for development time and all that, I just don't see why we've taken so bloody long about it...I remember 30 odd years ago (ahem...mind what you say now)...the NEW and wonderful EFA was going to be the all singing all dancing wonder plane...so why did it take this long and what we got at the end of it is not that much of an improvement on current aircraft?

But, having aid all that, it's about time we had a FIGHTER in service again and not just the interceptor F-3...although I'm not knocking the sharper Fin at all because it's an astonishing performer doing the job it was intended to do.

And I'm only jealous anyway cos I wanted to be a pilot but I'm too dumb... :P<_<

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Development was protracted because it was difficult to get all the parties involved to agree what they wanted. Then the wall came down and nobody really knew what the new aeroplane was actually required for. More discussion and negotiation. You can understand why the French have nothing to do with this sort of thing and personally I think it would have been better to let BAe pick up the ball and run with it - but apparently the numbers didn't/won't add up going alone. I would be surprised if the guys wearing blue suits think that Typhoon is 'not that much of an improvement on current aircraft'.

peebeep

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just don't see why we've taken so bloody long about it

Go ask the German government. It was their incessant demands for "cost reducing" redesigns that have given us the plane 10 years late, more expensive and less capable than it should be! :angry: Because we wanted to be seen as good Europeans we didn't just kick them off the programme. That and we thought the loss of their 200-odd airframes would drive the cost up prohibitively. Turns out it would have been cheaper in the long run. Even now the Germans are at it, they want all their planes NOW, straightaway, but they don't want to pay for them till 2012......

As for the French, they wanted all design, testing, production and sales to be based in France, with French leadership of the project. They never quite got the "co-operation" bit, so we never allowed them on board.

Oh, and there is talk of Tiffies in Afghanistan next year, they will also go to the Falklands in the next 12 months.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The twin seater Typhoon is definitely the uglier version if you ask me, the hump looks rather ungainly to my eyes! There seems to have been quite a bit of Typhoon swapping between squadrons lately, with jets being passed from one unit to another...will be interested to see what the final 'mix' of jets amongst the squadrons is once they receive a full complement of aircraft! I always thought it would make sense to give 29sqn (the OCU/training unit) mostly twin seaters, 17 a mix, and then 3 and 11 could have mostly singles and maybe one or two twin tubs....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I always thought it would make sense to give 29sqn (the OCU/training unit) mostly twin seaters, 17 a mix, and then 3 and 11 could have mostly singles and maybe one or two twin tubs....

Well that would follow what has always happened to single seat fighter units. 17 sqn's days are numbered - as the OEU anyway. Their services wont be needed for too much longer I wouldn't have thought. Be interesting to see if the squadron badge becomes adopted elsewhere?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well that would follow what has always happened to single seat fighter units. 17 sqn's days are numbered - as the OEU anyway. Their services wont be needed for too much longer I wouldn't have though. Be interesting to see if the squadron badge becomes adopted elsewhere?

I hope they stick around, purely because I like the markings - give them a full compliment of aircraft and make them a front line air defence squadron. Get rid of 25 squadron when they retire their F3s (nothing against 25 other than they carry the most boring markings in the whole RAF at the moment) and stand up 17 (F) as a replacement :speak_cool:

I do realise though that 'cool markings' aren't enough to cause squadrons to be kept, and it depends a lot on service politics and who's in charge at the time...a shame the way the RAF is shrinking, what with all the disbandments of historic squadrons we've seen over the last few years that look set to continue.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've always wondered if we would have been better off buying the F-22, the SU-37, or even building the MiG 1.44 under licence (or even Rafale, Gripen, etc?). When you read crazy stuff like dropping the Mauser cannons to save money, then installing lead weights in their place (to keep CoG), which cost the same...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've always wondered if we would have been better off buying the F-22, the SU-37, or even building the MiG 1.44 under licence (or even Rafale, Gripen, etc?). When you read crazy stuff like dropping the Mauser cannons to save money, then installing lead weights in their place (to keep CoG), which cost the same...

The situation with regards to the cannon you mention never actually happened though...somebody in the MoD had a sudden unexpected bout of common sense and the Typhoons are equipped with the guns, and, with the planned Afghan deployment next year, will probably become part of regular training sorties sooner rather than later.

As for buying the F-22, no chance, its too expensive and the American's wouldn't export it to anyone :). SU-37 is a nice airshow performer, buts its rather less agile with a decent fuel and weapons load, and I'd question how good its avionics are (a hotch potch of Russian, Israeli and French systems) compared to the latest western fighters. Rafale and Gripen would've been other options, but the Gripen will end up being a less capable aircraft than the Typhoon, and politics virtually ruled out the Rafale from the get-go....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...