GMK

https://www.thinkdefence.co.uk/boxer-armoured-vehicle/

Had an opportunity to look at the mockup last week - very much OH-58 size (or Long Ranger, perhaps).

Struck below.

Here it is:

The AS21 has the Elbit/EOS T-2000 turret and a hull that meets the protection requirements, as well as in-arm hydro-pneumatic suspension, & Soucy Band track. It’s a completely different vehicle (hull, turret, & powerpack) to the amphibious K21. Australia doesn’t - & hasn’t - had a policy of defence offsets, either direct, indirect, or counter-trade. Having worked in the Australian Defence sector (public & private sides, project management & procurement) for a while, “offsets” are a dirty word here, much to the confusion of some international partners.

Apparently it’s a low cost design that’s not low-observable. No relationship to Sikorsky’s Comanche as this is by Bell.

I guess landing on a carrier, day or night, fair weather or foul, isn’t flying. Nor, I suppose, is flying 2,800 nautical miles to deter an invasion. Its not a zero-sum game. The Buccaneer served well, as did its crews and maintainers. It’s not on the aircraft or service that there was (thankfully) no war to fight when it was being operated by the RN. Personally, I’d have preferred an S.1, then the RN S.2, then the RAF S.2. It’s good business to release the less popular version first, but I really wish the S.1 would get some IM love.

Wouldn’t have had it at all were it not for the RN.

Second one flies.

Fair enough - this is the US, though, not the UK!

Well, both AJAX & CV90 failed to make the grade in the Australian Land 400 Phase 3 competition. Rheinmetall KF41 Lynx & Hanwha AS21 Redback ate through to the Risk Mitigation Activity phase of the solicitation.

Sixth mission workstation added to USN, RASF, & RNZAF P-8As. No mention of the RAF. https://adbr.com.au/first-four-raaf-p-8s-to-get-sixth-mission-workstation/ “The US Navy has awarded a number of contracts to ....install a sixth mission crew workstation on US Navy and RAAF P-8A ... aircraft. The contracts, totalling about US$34m (A$50m) cover the production and delivery of 56 Sixth Mission Crew Workstation (MCW) Retrofit B-kits. The additional workstation will enable increased mission capability, versatility, data analysis in high workload missions. The four kits will bring all 12 RAAF P-8As delivered or on order up to a common interior standard. The four RNZAF P-8As to be manufactured as part of Lot 11 will also have the sixth MCW.”

Interesting. This came to mind yesterday while watching a camouflaged Royal Australian Navy MRH-90 conducting a fast rope demonstration at an open day: https://imgur.com/gallery/7hFQ4Cj Of course, here the RAAF don’t own any helicopters, so anything rotary wing is Army or Navy.

Thanks. Hmmm, maybe it’d fit inside one of the basketball presentation cases.

What are the dimensions of the completed kit? Thanks.

Great thread! Quick one; how did the Walrus/Seagull come to a stop when landing like this?

Didn’t the UK move away from the confusing practice of renaming foreign-supplied aircraft in ~1943? Thinking reverting Tarpon to Avenger and Martlet to Wildcat. Save for fragile national ego reasons, or an attempt to claim a level of (absent) design input, I can’t see a valid reason to rename platforms that will be required to inter-operate. Confusing a hypothetical UK ‘Triton’ (manned aircraft e.g. P-8) with a US ‘Triton’ (unmanned aircraft) with completely different capabilities, but similar roles, doesn’t sound particularly smart.

Maybe. But the Typhoon is now more expensive to buy than the Lightning (F-35 type).

Lovely pics - thanks for posting them. Shame they didn’t pop their ‘barn doors’. Would love to confirm whether the rumoured full colour Union Flag painted inside is actually there!

Yep, the only Lightning in RAF service that’s been deployed operationally

Word is that it is full colour.

There’s moves afoot to shift the roundel and add tail numbers, but a hard no (at this stage) for unit markings. The US Navy has sprung for full colour markings, and most other operators have unit markings, not sure why UK Lightnings don’t?

I don’t think the international rules for military markings have changed. Going from memory (!), markings visible from the above, each side, and below are required. With the aircraft being jointly operated by both the RAF & the RN, I’m guessing that the traditional “Royal Air Force” or “Royal Navy” titles are a bit too controversial to apply?

Looks sharp: Apparently there’s also the Union Flag on the underside of direct lift fan cover. Looking for pics.

Nice update: Plus a conversion to a high back.