Fair enough, is there a video of the Apache doing the same thing? And why isn’t it modeleed?
AH 64 Red Light Vehicle Engagement (youtube.com) single vehicle track, cant find a specific video for multi track but its kinda the same
ECRS Mk.2 has just flown for the first time:
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When can we expect this to be slapped on the rest of them
Did any other country expressed interest in it? I forgot.
If so, then probably at the same time or after UK EF get it installed on large scale.
if by “all of them” you mean “a few” then in a couple of years
because::::
only the 40 or so T3As are getting the mk2
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40 Tranche 3’s yeah.
https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2024-04-24/23420
Doesn’t seem to be very plug and play with the rest of the fleet;
https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/115779/default/
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Italy I think, though iirc due to time constraints with integrating, flight testing and manufacturing the MK.2 they seem to have also chosen to fit some with ECRS Mk.0(?) radars too, so I think they will not fully retrofit their fleet as that’s kinda a waste to fit one radar and then immediately another.
So no chance of them retrofitting the MK.2 universally but perhaps the MK.1 radar for the ones incompatible with MK.2?
IIRC Germany still uses T2’s and they plan to retrofit their ‘whole fleet’ so unless they plan on retiring a load of their T2’s and replacing them with EK’s and T5’s then it would seem the MK.1 radar is compatible with T2.
Though then there is the case that the MoD is cheap and won’t want to spend more than they have to. So they’ll make up some excuse about the 40 ones with MK.2 being ‘frontine’ fighters and the others being more of a support role for those T3’s and F-35’s.
Nah seems they need to upgrade Tranche 1 to 2/3 first before getting anywhere near the ECRS MK.2
which is not feasible. t1s are a dead end.
mk1 doesnt have the t2 incompatibility problem :shrug:
I meant can we not upgrade the T2’s that we have with the MK.0 or MK.1 radars?
T1’s I have accepted are a lost cause, though they’re still better than a good majority of the F-16’s flying around nowadays so would be perfect for the Falklands.
That’s like saying early F-35A’s are still better than most F-18E’s flying around nowadays. Of course they are. They’re prohibitively more expensive and built for an entirely different task & purpose. Completely different design philosophy.
But cheap enough to hand out money for nothing to a bunch of Train Drivers and lordy knows who else. £22 billion of debt or no, that is the least of our worries if a certain country decides to play funny fingers.
Seriously, this ass country. We have 100 or so serviceable Typhoons as is, and not nearly enough pilots even for those. We’ve a handful of F-35s, one of which (reasonably) got thrown into the Mediterranean. We have 6 destroyers (half of which are refitting with PIP so they don’t have powercuts the moment we put them somewhere hot), 8/9 Frigates (supposedly one is beyond economical repairs).
And we’re about to get stuck with 148 tanks, not including any remaining CR2s after they get mothballed or cannibalised.
Anyway, I get my head around Tranche 1s being unsuitable for ECRS Mk.2. That is fair enough. The problem and question for me is “why the hell can we not order more EFTs?” It’s not as if we’re about to procure a whole new plane, and we need the numbers. We barely have any EFTs as is, and whilst F-35 is surely a wonderful platform, 1) the RAF have to share with the FAA (who can’t use anything but F-35) and 2) F-35s, however magical their stealth is, are unable to be in two places at once.
dont even get me started on brit air defense lmao
My point wasn’t for war thunder or anything that should really have caused you as much offence as your tone implies. It was that binning them off like the RAF intends to might be chomping at the bit a bit when they still have a good airframe life and plenty of utility in both air policing (where stealth is irrelevant) and limited ground strike roles particularly seeing as the UK no longer operates the Tornado.
Layered levels of cost and capability work better for smaller air forces with lower budgets as a tip of the spear type thing.
If you read the context it makes perfect sense, you’re taking it completely out of context; seemingly for no apparent reason other than to make a dig.
you mean the virtual lack of it
(my Fleet Air Arm fever dream where we get to take all the F-35s off the RAF, because the RAF High Command is run by incompetent fools who are more obsessed with making sure they offend no one, have their bombs painted with gay pridd, and all their paperwork talking about “Airpersonship.” Seriously, give the F-35s to the organisation who’ll do something useful with them. Disband 617 Sqn until you get Tempest, reform 800/801 NAS and spark up the old rivalry. Results? Tick. Success? Tick. Based Sharkey Ward-esque activities? Tick.)
to be fair, I can see the RAF being quite suited to telling off the four Cessna pilots who took a wrong turn at Edinburgh and flew into a live fire range. RAF aren’t good enough to do anything but a little bit of slapping on the wrist.
Its abysmal, awfully thought out and they need to pick.
Do they want to be a big military, or a small one, because if you’re going to have carriers, go all in, but particularly with the F-35 where the B variant is explicitly the worst possible performer of the family, they either need to go all in or stop damn trying and wasting money…
There’s plenty of other places where it could be invested. Though I feel the same way with the navy on different issues that are not so relevant here.
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virtual? its absolute :'(
the ships provide some coverage and then there’s some CAMM here and there but thats about it