HMS Astute
Junior Member
This aircraft is too expensive, not sure how other smaller economies with much smaller defence budget like Israel and Norway can afford it.
Jura The idiot
General
HMS Astute
Junior Member
Imagine how many combat aircraft will be left in the RAF when Tornado and T1 Typhoon get retired? Doubt the RAF will get many F-35 as initially planned. It will be such an embarrassment if the UK can't even keep 200 combat jets in service.
Isn't the below 200 jets thing already reality? My understanding of the RAF combat jet planning is as follows:
Right now there should be around 100 Tornados and 70 Typhoons in service if I'm correct. Of the 100 Tornados, just under 50 are in frontline service.
An eventual 58 Tornados will recieve an upgrade to get Link16, Paveway IV and other avionic stuff upgrades. The last of wich to retire in 2019.
All T1 Typhoons will retire between 2015-18, with the T3 aircraft arriving roughly in the same period. That will mean 107 Typhoons remaining in the RAF from the end of the decade until 2030.
The F-35s will become operational at around the time when the Tornados will be gone. Only 48 aircraft have been comitted to, out of an original 138 planned. There has been talk in the past of possible A model F-35s being ordered after the initial 48B to replace Typhoons. That, apparently, is to be discussed in the 2015 SDSR.
The big hit came with the early retirement of the Harriers, followed by early retirements of T1 Typhoons and less F-35, which is not compensated by extending Tornado service.
HMS Astute
Junior Member
Up to 138 seems much but between the 2 number again possible, ofc A after the 48 first less expensive mainly but delivered 2025/2030 later.
Actually :
160 Typhoon ordered : 53 Tr 1, 67 Tr 2 and 40 Tr 3.
In service 124 Typhoon, 102 Tornado, one Frontline Typhoon sqn get 13 fighters, Tornado 16, in more 1 OCU for each and a OEU for the 2 i think about 20 fighers by OCU and 10 in OEU.
According it a forward fleet of max 80 Typhoon : 4 x 13 + 20 + 5.
Tornado : 3 x 16 + 20 + 5 : 73.
In fact very few based on the total mainly for Typhon, very strange, i don' t know RAF do with its fighters ?
Can easy get in more 2 squ, which are in more small, all main Western AF have sqn of 15/24 aircrafts.
With 220 fighters bombers RAF get only 7 " small" combat sqn !!!
For comparison In France we have 95 AF Rafale, 77 in the forward fleet : 3 x 20 + OCU 5 + OEU 5 + 6 flight/small sqn to UAE big difference !
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broadsword
Brigadier
HMS Astute
Junior Member
UK with $2.9 trillion economy spends over $62bn on defence still struggles to buy a few of these expensive aircraft. Israel impresses me.
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thunderchief
Senior Member
Yes, but Israel gets something over $3 billion yearly from US according to Jewish sources :
Some other sources, less friendly to Israel, claim it is closer to $10 billion :
UK has to pay its own bills, with higher cost of everything (due to the higher wages, environment regulations etc ) .
Some other sources, less friendly to Israel, claim it is closer to $10 billion :
UK has to pay its own bills, with higher cost of everything (due to the higher wages, environment regulations etc ) .