Reply With Quoteleg well and truly pullOriginally Posted by CarrierFan2006
I was pulling your leg mate!
leg well and truly pullI was pulling your leg mate!
Took me an age to get an avatar sorted!!! This is me on a bad day...!
I very much doubt that you would get much radar return from a porthole,and as far as the T42 and even T23 the masses of equipment on the upper deck would make it so negligable as to be unimportant IMO.
As far as other detection devices,I remember doing infra red trials on an RFA where we completely darkened ship and a RN ship was stationed a few miles off our beam.
They were carrying some experimental equipment to pick up light sources. The only lights on the ships were the dimmed red lights on the bridge displays,small red bulbs and they were even picking those up.
Likewise we also did some trials with mod scientists embarked working with equipment in a container that was loaded onto our flight deck (a Rover class RFA). The only person that ever got to get inside it was the Captain,and he never spoke about it.
I remember it was something to do with heat seeking sensors,we sailed around a one of the many small islands off Scotland during the night,and I remember in the morning one of the mod guys complaining that it was supposed to be uninhabited,but the seemed to think that the locals had put cows on the island.
It was proved to be later that they were picking up the heat signatures from rabbits on the island.that was in the mid 70's,so I wonder what on earth they have got nowadays.
I love this picture CF, thanks for posting. Nothing new at costa del Rosyth apart from the weather is a bag of shi*e
I doubt there is going to be alot to see until tomorrow anyway CJ, it looks like they are doing the welds on CB02e and no doubt teams are checking the drydock hydraulics and others alignment and getting the mating surfaces ready to be welded when they are drawn together.
G
Anything that will extend the 'B's strike range and at the same time fit in the bays must be looked at :-
PICTURES: MBDA sharpens Spear missile design for F-35 integration
By: Craig Hoyle London
16 hours ago
Source:
European manufacturer MBDA has unveiled a UK-developed design for a next-generation air-to-surface weapon suitable for internal carriage by the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
To be shown for the first time as a full-scale mock-up at the Farnborough air show, the Spear concept would use a turbojet engine and a wing kit to provide a stand-off range of about 100km (54nm). "Speed and range are the two main drivers" behind this configuration, says Rob Thornley, export working group leader for MBDA UK.
"Another key requirement is to provide multiple load-out on the F-35," says Thornley. The company expects to be able to fit up to four Spear weapons and one Meteor beyond visual-range air-to-air missile in each of the F-35's two weapons bays.
Firm decisions have yet to be made on the final Spear configuration, but MBDA says it will be about 2m (6.5ft) long, carry a multi-effect warhead and use a multimode seeker. The high subsonic-speed weapon will also feature INS/GPS guidance, and be able to receive mid-course updates via an onboard datalink.
The basis of the concept is now in an assessment phase study for the UK Ministry of Defence's Spear Capability 3 requirement. This activity is due to conclude in 2014 with an airframe and propulsion system demonstration using a representative weapon design.
"We are on track, and continue to mature the technologies," says business executive Adrian Monks. However, MBDA acknowledges that the UK's recent decision to revert to the short take-off and vertical landing F-35B "brings some challenges", as the type's weapons bays are shorter than those found on the carrier variant F-35C previously favoured by London.
MBDA plans to contract a European supplier to develop a new, lightweight, two-round rail launcher for the Spear missile, and says it has also identified a number of potential engine suppliers.
Sounds like bloody nice bit of kit, that. I really hope we see some of those deployed by our F-35's at some point in the future.
And yet you still went with that one ? lol.
Ref: Spear cruise missile. 54nm range doesn't seem too good to me ? OK, we can hide it in a stealthy-ish airframe but we still have to get just a little too close for comfort against a potentially very well equipped opponent. On the plus, it's alot closer than a paveway but still a long way off from a storm shadow.
Point is Arfah,it's not a cruise missile it's an anti armour air to ground missile. It's derived from the Brimstone missile that the RAF used in libya against armour to such good effect.
What they have done is added wings and a booster motor,so that in one of it's modes it can be fired at long range targets. It can be fired in salvo's so if there is say a concentration of armour,each missile will pick out its own target to attack.
It does not claime to be a cruise,and is not designed to hit the hardened targets such as storm shadow is.
Personaly I would say the capability to hit mobile armoured targets from 54nm is beyond anything we have at the moment,that is why a number of countries including the US is interested in this missile
Particularly as it proved itself a winner last time out.
Pardon my ignorance, but has there been any talk of AShM applications for Spear 3 or other possible weapons?
With recent talk about integration of the NSM on F35 and possible US Navy purchases, I was wondering what the UK's intended capability will be in this area.
So on frday SB03 is going to be connected to LB02 correct? then the rest of the CB02 will go on LB02? and then a lift will be connected onto SB03 as it shows in the vidoe? correct?
Thankyou Jonas, for a point well put. I misunderstood (plonka).
The plan is to join the blocks tomorrow.... though I understand the weather isn't that great up in the midlands and further north. so it may be pushed back
Looking forward to this
I dont think the weather will have an impact as there are no lifts going on.
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