Estonia’s biggest military exercise, Spring Storm (Kevadtorm) 2024, is taking place within the framework of the large-scale NATO exercise Steadfast Defender, during which the allies will practice the transfer of troops from North America to Europe.
The U.S., UK, France, Canada, Latvia, Denmark, and Poland will take part in this year’s Spring Storm.
April 29–May 18, @Kaitsevagi and Allies will increase aviation activity with low-flying, helicopter landings and overflights in Estonia for Ex Swift Response and Spring Storm. Aircraft include Eurofighter Typhoon, F16, Airbus A400M, Boeing C17, M28, WildCat, CH47 Chinook, Apache. pic.twitter.com/0kh9Zk8YpH
— Estonian Defence Forces | Eesti Kaitsevägi (@Kaitsevagi) April 26, 2024
British jets have started to arrive.
British aircraft are arriving in Estonia. Over April 29–May 18; NATO will increase aviation activity with low-flying, helicopter landings and overflights for Exercise Swift Response and Spring Storm. pic.twitter.com/pnwTC5eTKe
— George Allison (@geoallison) April 29, 2024
Given the governments renewed emphasis on industrial production I think it increasingly making sense not to upgrade the tranche 3 Typhoons to the Tranche 5 standard but instead spend the upgrade money and procure more Typhoons. At the very least we should focus on keeping a minimum production run of 12 aircraft a year until we are ready to switch to building Tempest.
We should also re establish reserve squadrons and pass older typhoons across to those squadrons just like the USAF does with the air national guard.
We need our armed forces to break out of their peace time all professional force ethos and start once again taking reserve forces seriously.
As has been shown in Ukraine and was much the same experience we had in WW1 and WW2, professional peace time armies don’t last long in a real war.
The service chiefs are quick to tell the public we need to be ready for ward yet at the same time they shun the means to do so only focusing ever more budget on ever smaller forces.
Not sure NETMA could supply aircraft at an average rate of 1 per month even after gearing up for it, which in itself would create a delay before the first aircraft delivery.
Even if that was feasible, we can’t produce enough excess trained pilots at the required rate to create reserve squadrons. To do that places onus on a significant increase in the planned training pipeline.
But if there’s a will there’s a way, so perhaps I’m wrong. My preference would be to ensure all Tranche 2/3 Typhoons get the AESA radar update and increase F35 numbers and squadrons ahead of Tempest.
Reserve squadrons would primarily be made up by former front line aircrews as with national guard.
NETMA is already producing more than 1 aircraft a month and has previously supplied at much higher rate but the idea is very much to ramp up to a sustainable levels of continuous production rather than the feast a famine.
What you’re advocating is the current policy which takes zero account of military industrial considerations.
That’s a £2 billion cost to upgrade just 40 Typhoons tranche 3 with AESA radar. Not sure about you but I think that’s a bad investment and it does nothing for production. A half decent order from the UK now combined with the orders from Spain and Germany and some others can keep typhoon is constant production.
That in itself is worth it to me.
I believe Typhoon production peaked at around 60 aircraft per annum but has been drastically reduced recently for the latest Kuwait and Qatar orders. However the recent German and Spanish orders may change that again so I guess your suggestion is certainly valid.
However, the AESA radar development is part of a bigger integrated package of upgrades to increase the aircraft lethality and survivability. Also all new Typhoons are likely to be fitted with an AESA variant of some sort. They will stop producing Captor-M and I don’t believe it will be an option for any new orders,
What you say Jim, makes perfect sense but it would seem that those at the top cannot or will not do what is clearly necessary. Volunteers and Reserve forces have performed from well to incredible from many nations and in many desperate situations. Look at Ukraine and further back in history look at the Rhodesian Armed Forces. Leaving aside the politics, that small number of Black and White ZimRhods held the Communist forces of Mugabe at bay for more than a decade. And, even though I said politics aside, Mugabe’s regime destroyed the economy and fabric of Zimbabwe very efficiently and the best evidence that this was not all about race is in the fact that there are about 3 million overwhelmingly Black Zimbos in lame duck SA and other countries-notably the UK!
Motivated volunteers are the backbone of the Army in any large scale conflict.
The UK military has always treated reservists terribly.
That is a pity. I was an Honourary Officer with the old Natal Parks Board who were responsible for all the Game Reserves in the Province. It was run in those days along mildly Military/Law enforcement lines, a relic from its quasi-colonial founders who had British Empire roots. Most of the African colonies ran their conservation bodies under similar lines with parade ground drill, some military ranks and insignia, and broad policing powers in enforcement of the Provincial and National Ordinances including anti-poaching, illicit trade, permits etc.. We always had great respect for the Regular Officers and despite some reservations about us ‘part-timers ‘at first, they grew to value our input, particularly as budgets came under pressure after the 1994 election. Today, Honourary Officers have a front line role in many KZN Parks and with the National Parks at Kruger.
I have heard there’s a real issue training new pilots. The RAF are trying to tempt back retired pilots to help train new pilots. There’s an ex pilot on YouTube saying why he wouldn’t go back.
Reasons were money, being stuck at RAF valley which he made sound like it’s the middle of nowhere with no jobs for spouses, diversity issues etc etc.
according to him the pilots are needing to stay in the front line squadrons instead of rotating through training roles. This will have a serious impact in the coming years.
It was so obvious when the RAF/government tried to purchase and train the minimum numbers of trainer aircraft and pilots. One little problem and it fails with no scope to surge training to catch up.
The failure of government to understand that what makes forces great is knowledge being passed down and experienced people.
Fast Jet Performance – I saw that. Really not very complimentary about the RAF but then that he got sacked for being outspoken.
Generally, a lot of military movements currently. It sends the appropriate message.
At the rate we’re currently deploying Typhoons globally do we really think it’s the brightest of ideas to retire the Tranche 1 Typhoons? If we do we’re not only reducing an already small fleet of aircraft at a time of heightened threat we’re also going to wear out what left of the remaining Typhoons and servicabilty and consequently aircraft availability will decline further. Seems like a dumb idea. Seems like it’s something we shouldn’t do. Maybe don’t do it….
Yes I agree, Spain is already upgrading tranche 1 typhoon to operate for atleast another decade so it can be done.
Keeping T1 is the only chance the RAF has to actually increase its number of air frames.
While the air to air mission that the T1 are largely adapted to was not seen as that important a few years ago when the decision to scrap them was made its become vital now, with the arrival of large fleets of suicide drones Typhoon is a more relevant capability than ever.
F35 is a great bomber and sniper but when you have large fleets of drones the ability to carry large amounts of under wing stores and the presence of a cannon become very important again.
In addition I think it’s also seriously worth pulling out the two seat T1 airframes from mothballs or the Razer blade factory and using them as controlling platforms for JackDaws or other LANCA drones.
I’m sure with a bit of the same Heath Robinson spirit that DSTL is currently exhibiting in Ukraine it can’t be too hard to bodge a drone control terminal in the back seat using link 16 to control large fleets of Banshee or JackDaws drones.
I know we got rid of the two seaters a while ago but I wonder if the airframes are still intaked somewhere.
Wish the government would see sense and keep the tranche 1’s until a new order of tranche 4’s came into service to keep numbers at 130-140.
107 T2/T3 is nowhere near enough to do all thats required of them…..at least not without working them so hard they burn through their airframe hours and need more and more maintenance sooner than anticipated.
Low rate production makes sense until Tempest ramps up too.
In the same way the RN needed a shipbuilding strategy the RAF badly needs an air strategy!
You would think the recent talk of increasing defense budget would come with some kind of serious announcement of how it will be spent, such as more jets/tanks/ships, before we get a solid roadmap of how things will improve, it is just a promise from a bunch of politicians (ie not very reliable). An order of say 25-40 tranche 4 would be a good start and an announcement of keeping the tranche 1 until that happens would be a smart move. Can’t fault the hard work that is being put in with the few jets we have tho, they are not sitting still while everyone else does all the work that for sure.
I’m surprised the Tory’s have not made an announcement on tranche 1 to try and bait labour into committing to it yet.
They announced hypersonic missile program which is pie in the sky instead.
Paint them pink and we can call them the flying pig.
Agreed 👍
Entirely agree that we should keep the tranche 1 Typhoon F2s in service, they have a lot of useful life left in the airframes and are a very good interceptor.
Other countries run their older aircraft on until they are replaced. Italy and Germany are still operating Tormados, which are currently being replaced by F-35s, Spain has tweaked its tranche 1 Typhoons to extend their effectiveness. The advantage this brings is not only in maintaining aircraft numbers, you also maintain trained squadrons and pilots, ready to transit to the replacement aircraft.
We go the other way, rushing to scrap equipment, and reduce air and ground crews, in oder to cut costs at any price.
I would retain about 22 of the F2s, enough to equip a squadron and base them in west of England , about equidistant between Lossie and Coningsby, so they could reinforce either in wartime and also defend our naval bases and shipyards.
We do need to buy some more Typhoons, 107 is a pitifully small number when spread across UK air defence, Estonia. Cyprus, Falklands and increasingly Germany/Poland. Problem is we can only afford 6-7 new fast jets a year then the budget is shot. At the moment, the glacial F-35 buy is going to hog the budget through to 2030.
If there really is to be a 25% uplift in budgets at some point (1,97% of GDP to 2.5%), then we should order another 20, that would be financially feasible.
We do need to fit the ECRS radar to 40 aircraft unfortunately the price tag is so heavy I can’t see us being able to afford to upgrade all 107.
West of England?? Where do you suggest?
The only two western bases equidisant.from Lossie and Coningsby and with long enough runways are Aldergrove and BAE Warton. No reason the MOD couldn’t reactivate former as an RAF base and relocate the helicopters currently there or do a deal with BAE to share the latter.
There is also RAF Woodvale near Formby in Lancasire, which is used by two UAS. The runways are too short (1647, 1068m) for mode4n fast jet aircraft and I’ve no idea how easy it would be to extend them by 1000+ metres.
If there’s a will, there’s a way.
My suggestion would be, as well as retaining a Typhoon squadron there, to move the non frontline units to the comparatively safer western base. These include the Agressor sqn, the OEU and the OCU.
This would give a better basic setup for any future wartime expansion, with the two forward combat bases at Lossie (north) and Coningsby (south) and the reinforcement, training and trials units in the west, which could also be the HQ of a reborn air defence Group.
There I am, dreaming in colours again!
See, this is the thing. A modern fast jet airfield needs HAS complex, a SSA, and links to the old GPSS pipeline. None of those have the first two, Warton most likely will be linked to GPSS. Yes if there’s a will we can build anything, but why not just use Leeming or St Mawgan?