Reply With QuoteIt looks like the same people from last time, if it’s anything like then they will say a lot without really saying anything.
Did any bits of info accidently get talked about?
Agreed, she seems very out of her depth. I believe half the board members here could do a better job at these things.Originally Posted by suricata
It looks like the same people from last time, if it’s anything like then they will say a lot without really saying anything.
Did any bits of info accidently get talked about?
The following with special lovely thanks to 'defencemanagement.com'
Hammond 'still considering carrier options'
26 April 2012
by Joel Shenton
Defence Secretary Philip Hammond is still asking "a lot of detailed questions" regarding the decision on which variant of F-35 jet to fly from the UK's Queen Elizabeth class carriers, the Ministry of Defence's top civil servant has said.
The carrier programme is being looked at again as part of a major ministry of defence financial planning exercise, planning round 12 (PR12), which has not yet been completed despite work starting some nine months ago in July 2011.
Permanent Under Secretary Ursula Brennan told the Public Accounts Committee that an announcement on the carrier programme was not now likely until after the end of the local election purdah period on 3 May, but that the Defence Secretary was focused on the issue.
"Ministers have not made a decision on this planning round," said Brennan. "The Secretary of State for Defence wanted to take the time to assure himself about these issues. He has been asking us a lot of detailed questions and he then has discussions that he needs to have with his ministerial colleagues including the National Security Council.
"That process has not concluded."
Brennan repeatedly refused to reveal how much had already been spent investigating the cost of converting the aircraft carriers, designed with the F-35B Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing jet in mind, to operate the catapults and arrestor gear necessary for the F-35C, the government's current choice of jet.
She did, however, say that she had initiated several internal leak inquiries relating to recent newspaper reports quoting conversion cost estimates.
Brennan was also unable to provide an estimated unit cost for either variant of the F-35, saying that the ministry looked at costs of the programme "in the round", rather than per jet. She admitted that there had been "a lot of movement" on the technical costs and risks of the programme in recent months, however.
Criticised over the protracted duration of PR12 discussions, Brennan said the ministry was "determined to get this right".
"We have had a serious problem with our budget in the past, and getting it into balance is a really big and serious issue for us. So many things depend on it.
"It is a source of concern to me that we have not managed to resolve it, but in the choice between moving to get it done by a date and getting it right so that we had confidence in where we were, I have discussed this at length with my finance DG (Director General) and the Secretary of State.
"Getting these numbers right, even if it has meant expending longer than we wanted to do so, is the right solution for us."
not shocked they're waiting till after the local elections..... don't need the media taking the decision apart during the current 'lets see what the Tories have done wrong this week' mood they're in atm....
What happened, did they say much, it's not letting me watch it
What the hell "still considering carrier options" is a long way from "PM set to announce change back to the B within a week"
I wonder if this goes back to what liger30 said it’s the F-35C inability to operate from French carriers and the need to upgrade both of ours that’s causing the problems.
hi guys
Just started to watch the video,they must save a fortune on heating - all that hot air !!! i reckon they are trying to stall for time so that they can find the dosh for cats n traps.
Ok slaughter me if I'm wrong and being stupid, but it's common knowledge that the F-35C can't take off from CdG but, would the B variant even be able to operate on CdG? No one has asked that or mentioned it? Could the Government be about to change the order for all the variants to be un-interoperable with the French? If that's so, what sort of influence would that have on the overall decision?
What?
Why should it not be able to operate from CdG?
The french use american-style systems all around for their carrier.
I think it was mentioned that the F35C was either too heavy to be launched or too heavy to land on the CdG.
Ok, apparently the F-35C is too heavy to be recovered with the CdGs arrestor wire system.
Charles De Gaulle uses 2 short (75 meters) C13F catapults. US ones, C13 Mod 2, are 90 meters long, as the EMALS will be.
The french also use a different shuttle-aircraft attachment than the american catapult: it is a component that can be changed in a minute or two, but without it, french airplanes can't be launched by a US catapult. When Rafales go on a US carrier, they bring the piece with them and fit it to one of the four catapults on the US ship.
This of course is easily solved, but i wonder if the short C13F cat would be able to throw the F35C, loaded, in the air.
The problem, anyway, seems to be about landing, more than launching, on Charles De Gaulle.
The landing angled deck is rather short (it had to be lenghtened specifically for the E2C because it was really damn too short, and the wires are positioned differently than on US carriers. With an airplane as big and heavy as the F35C, it is evidently a problem.
The B could almost certainly work on Charles De Gaulle, she is big enough to provide the airplane a sufficient take off run even without the ski jump.would the B variant even be able to operate on CdG?
As to the hearing at the PAC, it truly is distressing. A complete waste of time, i'd dare saying, even if it confirms that the decision-making is actually going on, and far from complete.
Had a wee nosey today at Rosyth, is it me or is there an a new sponson in view to the left of the Babcock shed?
New vid of 2 x F35C in formation...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sqti...ature=youtu.be
And an interesting article about the Falklands...
http://www.phoenixthinktank.org/2012...kland-islands/
This article from Phoenix Think Tank is very interesting. It considers the likelihood of RN and French cross decking as remote, and that we are more likely to cross deck with USN carriers. It's view of the French Navy is rather... not sure what the right word is! Read it and make your own conclusions!
http://www.phoenixthinktank.org/2011...raft-carriers/
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