Des nouvelles de la Royal Air Force

[Will]

Une petite nouvelle est quand meme une nouvelle:

*UK RAF receives first King Air B200GT training aircraft

The UK Royal Air Force (RAF) took delivery of the first of two Hawker Beechcraft King Air B200GT multi-engine trainer aircraft on 29 April. ...

02-May-2008

a dit Jane's

[Invité Rob]

Le RAF va donner Omega Air 25 millions livres par an pour les prochaines 5 ans pour avoir plus des services "ravitalleurs". Omega Air a trois ravitalleurs, un KDC-10 et deux K-707s.  =)

Link.

http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/mcevaddy-lands-big-raf-deal-1366606.html

[Will]

je ne sais pas si j'aime ce genre de nouvelle...ceci veut dire quoi?

Les Tristars/VC-10 ont un probleme (ou trop vieille?)? On a pas assez de tanker? On veut plus de tanker a l'etranger et on loue ici pour compense?  :rolleyes:

[Invité Rob]

Servicability du RAF/British Army/Royal Navy, le premier est le "target", le deuxieme est la realite. C'est pas mal.

Hercules C130K 75% 72%

Hercules C130J 80% 78%

VC10 70% 54%

Tristar 75% 77%

C17 88% 91%

Apache 62% 49%

A109A 66% 79%

Gazelle (5 Regiment) 75% 76%

Gazelle (Other) 70% 79%

Chinook 70% 67%

Puma 70% 63%

Merlin Mk1 70% 41%

Merlin Mk3 70% 50%

Sea King Mk3 74% 72%

Sea King Mk4/6 65% 45%

Sea King Mk5/7 65% 63%

Lynx Mk3/8 66% 60%

Lynx Mk7/9 63% 55%

[LordAssap]

J'aimerais beaucoup d'une part connaitre; et la source des ce chiffres ET la facon dont tout ca a ete calcule.

  Ca me donne l'impression que les grande visites ne sont pas tenues en compte pour obtenir des pourcentages aussi eleves....

[Invité Rob]

En servicability le "depth maintenance" n'est jamais inclu. Ce la meme pour tous armee de l'airs en le monde. La source est HANSARD.

[LordAssap]

En servicability le "depth maintenance" n'est jamais inclu

  Actuellement c'est faux vu que ca a juste recement change dans le cas des UK, au meme titre que les "cibles" de servicability...

[Alskandre]

Romandie.news, 27/05/08

"GB: un juge demande l'immobilisation des avions de reconnaissance Nimrod"

"LONDRES - Un juge britannique, chargé de l'enquête sur l'accident d'un avion de reconnaissance Nimrod de la Royal Air Force (RAF), qui a fait 14 morts en 2006, a recommandé vendredi l'immobilisation de toute la flotte de ces appareils, aussitôt refusée par le ministère de la Défense.

Ces appareils n'ont "jamais été aptes au vol", a déclaré le juge Andrew Walker, à l'issue de son enquête sur cet accident qui a eu lieu en Afghanistan en 2006 et a causé les pertes humaines les plus importantes pour l'armée britannique depuis la guerre des Malouines.

"J'ai consacré une grande réflexion à cette affaire et je ne vois pas d'autre alternative que d'informer le ministre (de la Défense) que la flotte de Nimrod ne devrait plus voler avant que le niveau minimum des normes de sécurité ne soit atteint", a-t-il poursuivi.

Le ministère de la Défense n'est cependant pas dans l'obligation de suivre ces recommandations.

Le secrétaire d'Etat à la Défense Bob Ainsworth a répondu dans un communiqué avoir "pris note des commentaires du juge", mais a précisé que la RAF n'immobiliserait pas sa flotte.

"Le Nimrod sauve des vies sur les théâtres d'opérations tous les jours. S'il n'était pas sûr, nous le ferions pas voler", a souligné M. Ainsworth.

Cet appareil "est sûr avec les mesures que nous avons prises et c'est pourquoi la flotte ne sera pas immobilisée", a-t-il déclaré en précisant qu'une enquête indépendante sur la fiabilité des Nimrod était en cours.

La flotte entière de Nimrod, construite par le groupe britannique BAE Systems, "n'a jamais été apte à voler depuis qu'elle a été mise en service pour la première fois" il y a près de 40 ans, a affirmé le juge Walker.

L'appareil accidenté en Afghanistan s'est écrasé au sol dans la région de Kandahar (sud) après un apparent incident technique alors que l'équipage se préparait à atterrir à l'issue d'une mission secrète.

Douze des victimes étaient issues de l'escadron 120 de la base aérienne de Kinross, dans l'est de l'Ecosse, et deux autres militaires rattachés à cet escadron pour effectuer un déplacement ont aussi trouvé la mort.

Les témoignages pendant les deux semaines d'enquête du juge ont évoqué des fuites répétées de carburant des réservoirs des Nimrod et souligné le danger représenté par le carburant s'échappant des réservoirs en cours de ravitaillement, qui peut s'enflammer.

Tom McMichael, responsable de la certification chez BAE System, a estimé qu'à cause de graves défauts de conception, l'appareil n'aurait jamais dû être certifié en 1968 lors de sa mise en service.

Le Nimrod est un appareil employé principalement par la Royal Air Force. Elle dispose de 16 Nimrod MR2, le modèle le plus ancien, à sa base écossaise de Kinloss, tandis que la base de Waddington, dans l'est de l'Angleterre, emploie le modèle Nimrod R1."

[Invité Rob]

Actuellement c'est faux vu que ca a juste recement change dans le cas des UK, au meme titre que les "cibles" de servicability...

Et tu sais que le Royaume-Uni et le seul qui fait ca? Il est possible que le RU a change pour etre en ligne avec les autres.

[LordAssap]

Et tu sais que le Royaume-Uni et le seul qui fait ca?

  En france on donne des chiffres bases sur une cible de 75% incluant les grande visites, pas possible a ateindre mais ils essaient sans arranger les chiffres a conveniences pour convaincre les politiciens que tout est au mieux.

  Pas la meme idee du mot democracie non plus... ;)

[Fenrir]

Aller pour détendre un peu l'atmosphère, un peu d'humour British.

Nouvelle campagne de recrutement pour la RAF:

http://fr.news.yahoo.com/zigonet/20080529/tod-des-preservatifs-comme-moyen-de-recr-17baed7.html

"Envoyez vous" en l'air qu'ils disaient!

[Invité Rob]

Le troisieme Skynet satellite va lancer aujourd'hui.  =) On a commande aussi des long lead items pour Skynet 5D.  =) Astrium UK et Paradigm peut probablement produire plus de Skynet satellites parce qu'ils ont exportes les services (NATO, Portugal, Nederlandais, Canada, France, Allemagne, Australie et USA) tres bien.

Countdown to UK military launch

A significant milestone in the UK's biggest space project is reached on Friday with the launch of the third and final Skynet 5 satellite.

The military communications platform will be lofted by an Ariane rocket from Europe's equatorial spaceport at Kourou in French Guiana.

It will provide British forces with the secure, high-bandwidth capability they now need to run their operations.

A successful launch will complete the in-orbit part of the £3.6bn project.

Additional work has included upgrades to ground stations and the installation of new antennas and terminals on military ships, planes and land vehicles.

Taken together, the three Skynet spacecraft - known as 5A, 5B and 5C - will provide coverage from the Americas to Asia.

See how the Skynet 5 system is being deployed

The satellites match the sophistication of the very latest civilian platforms used to pass TV, phone and internet traffic - but also are "hardened" for military use and will resist attempts to "jam" them, for example.

"These satellites have technology that allows them to pinpoint communications on to particular regions of the world with absolute precision, and without interference," explained Malcolm Peto from Paradigm Secure Communications, the company set up to run Skynet.

"You know the areas where British forces operate, and you can imagine the type of interference attempted. We can avoid that very simply, very clinically," he said.

The new Skynet constellation will allow the Army, Navy and Royal Air Force to pass much more data, faster between command centres. The bandwidth capacity of Skynet 5 is two-and-a-half times that of the old satellite constellation, Skynet 4.

The new system will allow British forces to make use of next-generation weapons systems, such as the recently introduced Reaper drones.

These unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) are deployed over Afghanistan but are remotely piloted by RAF personnel in the US.

Skynet 5C was built in response to high satellite insurance costs

This is made possible only by Skynet's ability to handle the drones' real-time video feeds.

Other battlefield applications would include surgeons, unsure how best to treat badly injured soldiers, being able to send scan information back to the UK for a second assessment; and then using video conferencing to discuss cases.

Skynet 5 is the largest PFI (Private Finance Initiative) so far delivered to the UK's Ministry of Defence (MoD). Under the PFI, the British military buys guaranteed capacity off its commercial supplier (Paradigm), which is free then to sell any spare capacity to friendly governments.

These third-party sales earn money for Paradigm and the MoD in what is a "shared gain" arrangement. The launch of the Skynet 5C satellite should provide substantial extra revenue potential.

When the PFI deal was originally set up, the MoD was only going to get the use of two satellites; but the high cost of spacecraft insurance in the early 2000s prompted project chiefs to put that money into building an extra platform instead.

"In effect we've self-insured," said Mr Peto. "We've used the money we would have spent on insurance to build a third satellite.

"When we launch [skynet 5C], we will have three very capable satellites to provide communications, not only for British forces but for our third-party market which makes this whole project viable."

Paradigm hopes the money it earns over the course of its contract (which runs to 2020) will be sufficient for it to reinvest in further spacecraft with enhanced payloads.

If this is achievable, Mr Peto says, it will provide UK forces with better equipment, much faster than traditional procurement routes.

As is normal for Ariane flights, Skynet 5C will ride into space with a co-passenger - on this occasion, a Turkish TV satellite.

"We'll be first out; the separation of 5C from the rocket occurs about 30 minutes after launch," explained the Skynet project manager, Patrick Wood, from manufacturer EADS Astrium.

"We'll pick it up via a ground station we're using in South Africa. The first thing we'll do is send a command that should be sent straight back to us, telling us the receive electronics are working. We can then send a sequence of commands to start waking up the satellite's systems."

It will take about a week to move 5C to its initial operational position 36,000km over the Atlantic Ocean, at 17.8 degrees West.

Friday's launch window in Kourou opens at 2152 GMT.

Link.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7419751.stm

[PolluxDeltaSeven]

Le troisieme Skynet satellite va lancer aujourd'hui. 

Et vous arrivez à lui faire confiance sachant ce qu'il s'apprête à faire à toute l'humanité? :lol: :lol:

http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:WJjVIuqAessc8M:http://www.illusiontv.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/terminator36.jpg

[Invité Rob]

:lol: Ou est Terminator?  :lol:

Mais on besoin dire que les programmes Skynet du MoD sont plus vieux que les films Terminator.

[TMor]

Et vous arrivez à lui faire confiance sachant ce qu'il s'apprête à faire à toute l'humanité? :lol: :lol:

Justement Pollux, l'humanité a besoin d'un événement comme ça pour se fédérer. Ca va être une belle époque d'aventure.  ^-^

[Invité Rob]

Good man!  =) Happy birthday and many happy returns.

RAF flypast for Europe's oldest man

The first modern Olympics were hosted by Athens, Puccini's La Bohème premiered in Turin and Queen Victoria became the longest reigning monarch in British history. The year was 1896 and in a corner of north-east London an ironmonger's wife gave birth to a boy, Henry.

One hundred and twelve years later, Henry William Allingham is in rude health as the oldest man in Europe. On Friday the First World War veteran will celebrate his birthday by watching a fly-past of vintage aircraft, including a Hurricane and a Spitfire.

On the same day George Francis, the oldest living American male, will also turn 112. It is thought the only man in the world who is older is Tomoji Tanabe of Japan, who turns 113 in September. He says that abstaining from alcohol has kept him healthy. Allingham, with a twinkle in his eye, has always attributed his own longevity to 'cigarettes, whisky and wild, wild women'.

He was involved in the greatest naval clash of the First World War, the Battle of Jutland, and in 1917 was posted to France to service and rescue aircraft that crashed behind the trenches at Ypres and the Somme. He fell into a shell hole 'full of legs, arms, ears, rotten flesh and rats' in no man's land and has never forgotten the stench of death.

Allingham attends remembrance events at home and abroad, gives interviews to the media, visits schools to talk to children at least 100 years his junior and has just completed an autobiography, to be published in October.

On his birthday, Allingham will be the guest of honour at a VIP lunch at RAF College Cranwell, near Sleaford, Lincolnshire. The sole surviving founder member of the RAF will witness a fly-past by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight and a parachute jump by the RAF Falcons display team. Forty Cranwell Primary School pupils will present him with a birthday cake. The great-great-great-grandfather will also be joined by eight family members from America.

Yet for more than 80 years Allingham never spoke about the war. He was finally persuaded by Dennis Goodwin who, as founder of the First World War Veterans' Association, organised reunions and trips for old soldiers. 'He'd answer the door and not let me in,' recalled Goodwin, his carer and the ghost writer of his memoirs. 'He'd say, "I want to forget the war, I don't want to talk about it." But I sent him letters about the reunions and gradually he let me in and we got talking. Eventually I got him out of his flat in Eastbourne and took him to the pier. He met other veterans and started to think, "I could do this." It was a very slow process - he's essentially a very private man.'

Goodwin, 81, added: 'We're going to Trooping the Colour on 14 June. Henry said, "I remember my mum took me there when I was seven. I don't know how she got a front-row seat." That would have been 1903. If you were looking for a role model, not many people would say Henry Allingham, but the mere fact he's got to 112 and is still enjoying life is itself unique.'

Allingham remains in good health and lives at St Dunstan's home for blind veterans in Brighton. Max Arthur, author of the First World War oral history Last Post, said: 'He's a very dignified, very gentle man. He was so surprised to survive the First World War that he saw whatever came next as a reward. He made the most of his life. It does exemplify in my mind that, whatever age you are, never give up, and when in doubt, sing, which is what he still does. Sheer defiance is the reason he keeps going.'

The diary for Allingham's 113th year is already filling up. In November he will attend a service at the Cenotaph in London to mark the 90th anniversary of Armistice Day, along with the two other surviving First World War veterans, Harry Patch, 109, and 107-year-old Bill Stone.

Allingham said: 'I'm not the kid I used to be, but I still get around. You make your own happiness, whatever age you are. Seeing the funny side of life is useful, and I've always had a sense of humour. People ask me, what's the secret of a long life? I don't know.'

Longest innings

Landmarks in the life of Europe's oldest man, Henry Allingham, 112 this week

1896 Henry William Allingham is born in Clapton, London, on 6 June

1898 His father dies from TB. The photograph of Henry was taken the following year

1903 Watches WG Grace at The Oval

1915 Following the death of his mother at 42, enlists with the Royal Naval Air Service

1916 Joins HMT Kingfisher, which is involved in the Battle of Jutland

1917 Posted to France and joins No 12 Squadron of the RNAS to rescue aircraft that crash behind the trenches

1919 Marries Dorothy Cater. Works his way up to a senior position with Ford

1960 Retires to Eastbourne with his wife, who dies 10 years later

2003 Receives France's highest military honour, the Légion d'Honneur

2007 Returns to The Oval to reminisce about watching WG Grace play there

Link.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/jun/01/military.firstworldwar

[Will]

PFI contract for RAF pilot training

Various newspapers have reported that a Private Finance Initiative contract for running Britain's military pilot training system will be given the go ahead today. Armed Forces Minister Bob Ainsworth has announced to Parliament the award of a contract, valued at £635 million, to Ascent, a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and VT Group, for the UK Military Flying Training System, which is designed to meet the long term flying training needs of the UK Armed Forces.

Mr Ainsworth said: "Ascent has been appointed as Training System Partner to work with the Ministry of Defence to incrementally procure and deliver flying training capability, the first part of which is a Ground Based Training Environment, funded under a Private Finance Initiative, for the Advanced Jet Trainer, Hawk 128. Our intention is to add other elements of flying training in due course so that all flying training is brought within a single training architecture, making UK Military Flying Training System the first step in a 25 year programme.

"This contract signals our intention to overhaul our training schemes and bring them together into one modern and cohesive programme. The focus, as it always has been, will be on delivering first class training to produce high calibre, well trained personnel for Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and Army aircrew. We will continue to ensure that our flying personnel are equipped to meet contemporary and future threats, but the new contract should allow us to reduce overall costs and also improve training throughput to frontline units by improving the overall training times for aircrew and reducing delays between flying courses."

[Invité Rob]

On a commande un 4ieme Reaper pour remplacer le Reaper qui etait crashe.

An armed USAF Reaper takes off on a training mission from its base in Nevada, USA

RAF Reaper deploys ground attack munitions - Friday 6 June 2008

Inside a control ground station RAF & USAF aircrew remotely fly a Reaper on a missionAn RAF Reaper Unmanned Aerial Vehicle used its weapons system in support of coalition forces in Afghanistan earlier this week. As with any other munitions this was carried out under strict Rules of Engagement.

This action follows the announcement by the MOD, also this week, that the Reapers of No: 39 Squadron are now authorised to carry weapons.

Unlike the United States Air Force Reapers, which are frequently used to provide Close Air Support to troops, RAF Reapers are used predominately to provide Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) data to coalition and UK forces on Operations.39 Squadron, which is the RAF’s Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron, was reformed in January this year and operates from Nevada in the USA as part of the USAF 432nd Wing.

The Reaper aircraft are based in Afghanistan but are remotely controlled by satellite link from the USA. The Officer Commanding 39Sqn, Wg Cdr Andy Jeffrey, described his Squadron’s role: “Our mission is to provide persistent ISTAR, and where required offensive support to UK and Coalition forces involved in Operations.” He added more succinctly: “We are here to make a difference and save lives.”

A USAF Reaper armed with GBU-12 bombs and Hellfire missilesAlthough it’s an RAF Squadron, 39Sqn is comprised of personnel from all three UK services; RAF, Royal Navy and the Army. The mix of different service personnel is seen by Wg Cdr Jeffrey as very much a key asset: ”To have an army soldier or Royal Marine who’s had ‘boots on the ground’ in Afghanistan [as part of the Squadron] is absolutely fantastic”.

During a mission the Reaper is controlled by a pilot and a sensor-operator both of whom are experienced aircrew. In addition, a mission coordinator present in the ground station alongside the aircrew is often an experienced soldier or Royal Marine.

Although operating from a purpose built ground station thousands of miles from where the Reaper is actually operating, Wg Cdr Jeffrey was keen to acknowledge the close bond between his Reaper crews and the troops on the ground on operations: “You are in that fight, you are listening to the guy on the ground, on that radio, and who’s taking incoming fire.” He added, “It comes back to people, of saving lives and making a difference, and we are doing that.”

The Ministry of Defence is procuring four Reaper UAVs as part of a UOR or Urgent Operational Requirement. The fourth Reaper will replace the one lost in an accident in April this year.

Link.

http://www.raf.mod.uk/news/archive.cfm?storyid=5DC13BC6-1143-EC82-2E885837D31A0610

[Will]

1ere vol du F35B le 11 juin au Texas, le pilote est un employé de BAE et ex-pilote de harrier du RAF, Graham Tomlinson.

http://www.satnews.com/cgi-bin/display_image.cgi?1369566985

Skynet 5C a ete lance avec succes de Kourou.

[Invité Rob]

Un essai pour le jour de la naissance (birthday?) de la Reine britannique (God save the Queen).

[TMor]

Waaaa ! Mon avion préféré en 16 exemplaires !  :lol:

Que de bons souvenirs, décollage :

On monte on monte :

Pleine PC, flèche à 67°  O0:

Waaaaaa !!!  :lol:

On fait coucou aux gens dans la ville =) :

Ca c'est la vue du mec de derrière  ^-^ :

Oh les lignes haute-tension  :-\ :

Et un peu de tir au canon  (172 obus restants, 8 en vols, ça va péter en bas ! >:(

Bon, j'ai fait l'idiot, j'ai activé les inverseurs de poussée avec la pc allumée à l'atterrissage, j'ai mis le feu aux moteurs...  :-X

Que du bonheur le Tornado ! :lol:

Signé TMor, à qui faut pas trop en demandé à 23h30

[DEFA550]

Signé TMor, à qui faut pas trop en demandé à 23h30

C'est clair...  =D

[Will]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7454737.stm

Joyeux Anniversaire a la Reine et son cadeau du RAF  ;)

[Will]

* Un Harrier GR7 de RAF Cottesmore s est crashe dans un champs pres de Ashwell. Le pilote, qui est partie du FAA, a ete emmene a l hopital.

* Defence Secretary Des Browne a annonce aujourd'hui que les Harriers base a Kandahars depuis 2004, seront remplace par un meme nombre de Tornado GR4 au printemps 2009.

Aussi, plus d'equipages de helicopteres seront envoyer pour permettre plus de temps de vols des chinooks et apaches

http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/DefencePolicyAndBusiness/DefenceSecretaryAnnouncesAfghanTroopIncrease.htm

[Invité Rob]

BAE Systems a vendu 6 Commander SL radars au Luftwaffe allemand. On peut lire en le press release que le Royal Air Force a achete le Commander aussi.

Link.

http://www.rheinmetall-defence.com/index.php?fid=4745&lang=3