U.K. No Air-defense Cover!

 The Bloodhound Last!

We once lead the world in military production, but with joining the European union and having various Labor parties in government, we have lost out in many areas including air defense, because NATO relied on the U.S.

But now that relations have soured with the U.S. we will either have to buy from Europe or develop a new system, despite the big words to Russia over the Ukraine, we are really defenseless to Russian attack?

Hoping that they won't attack is a bit arrogant and asking the U.S. is now off the table, so where do we go and what do we do, who knows and who cares!

NATO and Europe!

 Dwindling Forces?

Without the back up of the United States, ie paying the bills of other peoples wars and the U.K. talking about supporting the Ukraine, when we and many of them have nothing to keep going for a few months? 

One finds it hard to believe that our government still has the clout to think we are a world key power, when we have been cutting back our own armed forces for the last twenty-five years!

It is easy to believe that the U.S. will back us up, but with the anti-Israel situation, we have lost curry favor already with the Donald.

Submarines and forces in Estonia may look good to the media, but when facing the Russian bear, many lives will be lost and this proud moment will lead to more memorials and duties for the British royal family to keep going???

Electric power flight!

 Still early days?

There are many designs and concepts out there and the few that are operating are still classed as very unstable and dangerous, but as time moves on better engines will be developed and some aircraft will make it to the civil market on the air taxi scale two-four passengers?

Embraer is leading the way with the possibility of commercial aircraft within the next ten years, while several others are moving into combination powered aircraft, just like hybrid automobiles, but the development of new lighter carbon materials is opening the door for some serious models to come to the fore?

Meanwhile the drone is now at its current height of being militeriesed, as seen in the Ukraine on both sides, but they have limited range still and one is only seeing old NATO models being used on the battlefield, rather than anything that is really new.

The future may see drones being used as AI driverless cars in the future and that will be something of a change?

The British Army, N.A.T.O and Europe?

Future!

Britain has now lost its once great empire, but it still has many territories and some have a great strategic value such as the Falklands! Britain still has many interests and NATO commitments?

But now the European Union are set on creating its own armed forces in a united Europe, confirming much speculation over the years! 

The EU already operates under the humanitarian flag in the Arabian sea between Yemen and the Horn of Africa protecting shipping from Somali piracy, as well in the Mediterranean in connection with Libyan refugees being smuggled and abandoned at sea!

But a land army is a much different matter, will this see the end of N-Atlantic pact? Relations between Europe and the U.S are now at an all time low and we have to make up our minds who we will be with in the future?

British Buying European?

Macron and the Super-State.

It would seem that Britain is doing the natural thing in buying European from both Airbus and Airbus helicopters, over that of the odd items from the United States?

The H135 and 145 are soon to enter service with the Helicopter Defence Flying School and more procurements of both the A400 Atlas transporter and A330 tankers are on the way, but the U.S. still has a look in with the F-35 V/STOL fighter, Boeing-Vertol Chinook transport helicopter and long awaited Boeing 737 maritime reconnaissance!

Not so much reported in the U.K. media, is the proposals by the French PM to create Europe as a super state, within his term! So much the better for Brexit, if we ever see the light of day of it?

N.A.T.O. meets in Brussels, Belgium on the 11th-12th July for their summit, the Ukraine, Iran, Syria and N-Korea will some of the main issues! Others will be the continued ISIS/S threat, Piracy in the Arabian and Red Seas and things that may surprise us even more???

The Typhoon Class.

Worlds largest Submarine.

Soviet Russia was one of the most ambitious nations in the history of the world, especially in the last one-hundred years of civil engineering and the invention of machines. They launched the Space race with the Sputnik and Gagarin and by their fall they had the largest aircraft ever built the Antonov An-224 Miry (Dream), the Buran Robotic Space Shuttle and the elusive Typhoon Class Submarine.

After the fall of Communism came the dismantling of the largest stockpile of nuclear weapons on both sides and there were many cutbacks of fighter bombers and submarines, and other military equipment. 

It is not known, if all as claimed how much was actually cut back, because today it is estimated by N.A.T.O. that Russia is as mighty as it ever was!

The Typhoon was designed to carry the largest number of multiple Inter-continental ballistic missiles that was possible to get on a (36) Submarine, meanwhile each missile was capable of having 12 to 16 warheads!

It was also the first of a new generation of robotic operated systems, with less crew (125) than would be required normally. 

Russia like many nations had discovered that the submarine was one of the most effective weapon systems to have, because they can go undetected for months under the sea.

Army Transportation. Part-One.

Unipower Commander.

This has been the replacement to the Thornycroft Antars of the heavey lift transports such as the Challenger Mk-I and II Main Battle Tanks. 

The Unipower started life as a Scammel in concept from 1976, but has changed over to the present with main production starting in 1983, with an order for 125 vehicles.

Two types of Diesel engines are available the Cummins KTA 600 and the Perkins Rolls-Royce CV12.

As time has moved on and Britian being part of N.A.T.O. there is a wider choice of heavey transportation available with civil haulage types such as the Germany Mercedez and Swedish Scania trucks. I think that both of these types where unloading and uploading before and after the Wales National Air Show WNAS16 in Swansea.

Apart from the acceptance and procurement of the German MAN trucks the U.S may be providing some of its Oshkosh MTVR units for the movement of heavy weight requirments of tracked armour and refulling tankers.

Fighter Jets. Part-Two.

F-18 Hornet.

This is a jet that is now in widespread operational service with the armed forces of the united States of America and its NATO and other Allies, but it is relatively overlooked by the mainstream. Many of the current Russian Federation equivalents such as the MiG-33 and Sukhoi Su-27 are compatible, perhaps more on paper than actually ever seeing combat actions?

The McDonnell-Douglas FA-18 Hornet became operational in 1983 for the US Marine and Naval corps and was designed to be based on Aircraftcarrier fleet. There are various different types available and they have been exported to both Australia and Canada. 

Speed is 1.8 Mach, armaments a six barrel 20-mm canons and 9 wing positions for side-winder air to air missiles and other stand-off weapons.

Military Trucks. Part-Two.

Ever Changing World.

Most of the trucks that we looked at in Part-One of this series of articles have all over the years been in the process of standardisation for their compatibility to fit the NATO Lockheed Hercules C-130 transport aircraft.

But now we will take a look as what is available around the world and how they have either been exported or licensed built in other nations since, the break up of the old Soviet Warsaw Pact block in the 1990's. 

The Czech Tatra T815 Kolos has been exported to India, while the 6X6 Tatrapan Armoured car was developed for the Slovak army.

Brazil is to soon replace its ageing Engesa EE-50 truck and variants, while it is still in Service in Angola. Western Star is the main producer for the Canadian armed forces, while the Austrian Styr is built in Canada under licence.

Warships. Part-One.

The need For!

Every nation that has a coast, even a lake border needs some kind of Navy. Armed vessels from little patrol boats to the ocean plying aircraft carriers or deep water submarines. 

The British Royal navy has been shrinking over the last seventy years from being a world power, 'Britannia Rules the Waves.'

Today the United States of America, the Russian Federation and the Republic of China, with France are the biggest navies of the world. Britain is part of N.A.T.O. (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) and is also a member of the European Union which is building its own joint forces programme.

EU Warships now patrol the Suez Canal in northern-Egypt, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, between war struck Yemen and Somalia. they are involved in protection oil and gas tankers travelling from the Persian Gulf to Europe. 

Meanwhile apart from local waters, some ships may be assigned from time to time to the Mediterranean to counter illegal seafaring immigration to southern-Europe.