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Post by macnz on Nov 28, 2014 12:27:27 GMT 12
Canberra is a LHD. F-35C is CTOL i.e. assisted by catapults and arresters. Only F-35 type the Adelaide could use that ski ramp for is the F-35B which is V/STOL. I say Adelaide (sister vessel of Canberra) because the Canberra lacks the deck coating and fuel tanks to operate VSTOL aircraft from. If AU govt wants to buy F35Bs later and project from their LHD carriers, they better make up their minds pretty smartly before the Adelaide is finished otherwise it will be an expensive retro fit for either. May already be too late. Main problem to getting Canberra to FOC is when their first (F100) AWD will be finished and the purchase of new replenishment vessel. Without those 2 ships, Canberra's footprint is restricted - even with the upgrades to their Frigates and presuming the Aussies can manage to spare one of their few operational Collins subs to protect.
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Post by macnz on Nov 28, 2014 9:20:56 GMT 12
Agree with Beagle - dont think Aussies would be too keen to timeshare and probably you need a commercial framework to assure availability to do so. i.e. like the UK does with its Voyagers (A330MRTT) and Europe airforces
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Post by macnz on Nov 25, 2014 20:34:17 GMT 12
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Post by macnz on Nov 14, 2014 0:57:50 GMT 12
Ok squadron is not the USAF ..its their USMC ..but its a nice clip of 2 MV-22 performing dress rehearsals for G20. Nicely showcases the pair's capability to land in brownouts. Guess they underestimated how much dust they would stir up on the motorway nearby (stopping traffic).
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Post by macnz on Nov 14, 2014 0:26:59 GMT 12
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Post by macnz on Oct 21, 2014 16:13:36 GMT 12
Janes reporting that Oz's AWD programme 1 blown out to AUD800m more than its AUD8.5 billion budget. Australian National Audit Office estimated in March overrun of AUD500m. (1) AWD Programme 3x 7,000-tonne Hobart-class AWDs to be delivered to RAN March 2016, September 2017, and March 2019 Source: www.janes.com/article/44759/awd-programme-now-aud800-million-over-budget...ok the current burnrate might only be 10% of budget but unfortunately still 5-6 years to run on programme. What NZ could do with spare AUD800m
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Post by macnz on Oct 21, 2014 15:30:49 GMT 12
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Post by macnz on Oct 13, 2014 13:29:20 GMT 12
Reported purchase of 4 additional C-17 'safely assumed' that future budgets spend will be 2% of (current level) GDP. 2 definite purchases of the 10 remaining whitetails will reportedly cost AU $500m. "Under Prime Minister Tony Abbott, the government has pledged to return defense spending to 2 percent of GDP over the coming years; the current financial year budget has already seen an increase from around 1.7 to 1.8 per cent." Source: www.defensenews.com/article/20141003/DEFREG03/310030035/Australia-May-Acquire-Up-4-More-C-17sOriginal purchase of 3+1 back in 2006 was to cater for ADF needs to 2018/2020. Then 2 additional were ordered in 2011 (delivered 2012), and now (up to) 4 more will mean the C-17 fleet growth for No.36 Squadron will have reached 150% more than the original inception - one of those rare procurement cases that has been successful and testament to the aircraft's suitability for ADF Can anyone confirm the range of the C-17ERs? I've read material that quotes 4,500km, 5,200km and another 10,000km 'with troops'. Assuming distances quoted are with payload (but not MTOW) then the 4500km maybe is for the original C-17As before block 13 in 2001 which introduced the ER? But is it 5,200km or 10,000km?
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Post by macnz on Oct 13, 2014 12:06:32 GMT 12
As Australia accepted its first LHD last Friday to be delivered to RAN 28 Nov [see 1 at bottom for link] there was also an article published by ADM's Tom Muir [see 2 at bottom for link] about the government's ambitions to field F-35Bs on the LHDs. In Brief: Australia's LHD 'as aircraft carrier' headache It has been widely reported that in the lead up to the 2015 Defence White Paper, Prime Minister Tony Abbott ordered Defence to assess the benefits of F-35B jump jets and converting the Canberra class Landing Helicopter Docks (LHD) to accommodate them. “In 2012 ...a highly classified Operational Analysis Supporting Paper which indicated that “planners have grave doubts about the capabilities of the jump jets. According to the newspaper, the conventional variant was 'more effective than the jump jet in almost all cases'. The key issue identified was that the F-35B STOVL version carried less fuel than other the other versions, reducing weapons payloads and reducing the amount of time the aircraft could spend over a target area....For a target 300 nautical miles away from the aircraft carrier, the jump jet can spend only 20 minutes over its target before turning back, compared with 80 minutes for the conventional jet.” 29 April 2014 estimated basic costs per aircraft (the airframe, engines and avionics): US$105.5 million – F-35B STOVL variant US$89.7 million – F-35C carrier version (1) Australia receives first Canberra-class LHD Source: www.janes.com/article/44335/australia-receives-first-canberra-class-lhd(2) Australia's LHD 'as aircraft carrier' headache Source : www.australiandefence.com.au/news/australia-s-lhd-as-aircraft-carrier-headache
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Post by macnz on Oct 7, 2014 16:09:32 GMT 12
Yet more woes for Canada's navy. Lets hope NZ MOD avoids this predicament with NZDF's own Endeavour replacement. At the end of September reported that having left too late(read: procrastinated) their decision on buying ships to replace their dated replenishment vessels. The Canadian Navy now have to ask to NATO and US to help bridge the gap because their 2 existing 'Oilers' have 'run out of steam' and cant be put back out to sea to support the rest of their fleet. To add insult to injury, 2 guided missile frigates also had to be parked for similar reasons. Canada To Seek NATO, US Support For Naval Air Defense, Resupply www.defensenews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2014309270029Jane's article: www.janes.com/article/43693/royal-canadian-navy-to-retire-four-ships-early
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Post by macnz on Oct 7, 2014 15:37:12 GMT 12
Interesting article published last Friday but not picked up by other news streams. Even when googled was difficult to locate - buried? If you are not an AFR subscriber, difficult to retrieve - hence the jpeg to share for those interested. Anyhow - basically US Secretary briefed ADF and Ministry that Tony's interest in Virgina Class vessels are not on offer for future sub replacement. Yanks happy for Oz to buy (conventional) from Japan though... Yanks also question OZ ambition to crew such size vessel as well as capability to maintain the reactors. So that leaves only the UK Astute class subs - if AU still wants Nuke powered option that is. Article also notes there are all sorts of politics and proliferation issues (with China) could be introduced. Assuming that is part of Yanks concern then cant see Brits being any more willing given their kow towing to China of late. Will be interesting to see how the sub contest options will shake out: Nuke (Astute) or Conventional - Japanese - Build Your Own - European (SE/DE) Source: AFR
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Post by macnz on Sept 17, 2014 0:18:01 GMT 12
Japan has two "helicopter destroyers" and is building two more, each 33% bigger than the 27,000 tonne Izumo (22DDH). Apparently this has also precipitated Japan's interest to be the second export customer for the V22 following its order of F-35s. This article published back in Feb draws a good correlation to the up-spend in aircraft with the development of all these helicopter platforms in Asia. aviationweek.com/awin/asia-pacific-nations-building-helo-fleetsI guess we can expect to see more of the same happening in OZ too, as the Canberra class reach IOC and FOC however I doubt they will invest in a follow-up order of F35Bs. If any Asian country will be flying F35s from their platforms - my money's on either Japan or Singapore - probably the latter. Meanwhile S.Korea has the LPH - the Dokdo. They intend to build a second Dokdo-class vessel with a "ski ramp" to facilitate STOVL aircraft operations -- then two fully fledged light aircraft carriers of 30,000 tons displacement, due to float sometime between 2028 and 2036. Source: www.defensenews.com/article/20131026/DEFREG03/310260005/S-Korea-Envisions-Light-Aircraft-Carrier
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Post by macnz on Sept 16, 2014 10:49:07 GMT 12
Agree mroz. Post GFC in 2008, defense force structure spend was pretty well hit in most countries to levels 1.5-2% GDP excl. China, US, AU and the Middle East. In Oz, the mining boom lasting until 2012 was helpful for kicking off these big scale purchases. Regrettably NZ doesn't have that capacity in resources nor the population to sustain that kind of spend on our deserving NZDF. However with the budget they have been given, NZDF have made some canny buys in the last decade. Love to see some A400s and V-22 added to our airforce. Seen debate elsewhere that we should be considering P8s to modernize our P3Ks but not convinced. Maybe there are some smaller airframes like; Saab2000 ERIEYE, Embraer P-99 MP, Sentinel R1, or Piaggio P180 Avanti which could succeed the MPA role of our P3Ks. A lot cheaper per unit (and to operate) than P8, so we could hopefully afford a reasonable number to patrol our EEZ.
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Post by macnz on Sept 15, 2014 14:08:51 GMT 12
thanks for the feedback meo4. Knew about the defense upgrade but wasn't aware NZ had the better engine set-up.
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Post by macnz on Sept 15, 2014 13:31:10 GMT 12
Looks like this week Japanese military are indicating maintenance might not be transferable either. www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-15/japanese-concerns-over-submarine-deal/5743022The article reports the Soryu-class as "the world's best non-nuclear" ...mm more spin? They said the same about the Kilo class last decade and look what happen with them in India. Thankfully NZ cant afford to compete in this game. Be nice though if NZ (can only afford 2) could get our hands on a couple of decent danish vessels like the Absalon-class. www.casr.ca/id-danish-naval-projects-absalon.htmA little heavier than our current frigates but they double also as command and support vessels, and danes build them to patrol the Arctic waters and for mine clearing. Canadians call them Destroyers but everywhere else I've read about them they are referred to as Frigates ...must be a tonnage thing?
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Post by macnz on Sept 7, 2014 23:05:13 GMT 12
Can you recall the contentious debate the NZ public had about the ANZAC frigates purchase back in the late 80s? ...then the Lange government had to draw-back on its initial purchase intentions. Will the NZ public express similar reservations in the next few years when the course for Frigate replacement again resurfaces (submarine pun not intended)? Given the escalating defense spend that has been going on in the Asia region over this decade, and recently the 'ramp-up' being reported in Europe, I found this blog was interesting about NZ's defense capability. www.aspistrategist.org.au/nz-defence-capability-running-to-stand-still/It was published in July - around when the NZ government announced the additional spend ($500m). The proposition comes at the end, where A.Davies suggests that because NZ's spend is admirably modest, he asks whether buying (second-hand) Australia's upgraded ANZAC frigates when the ADF gets around to replacing theirs with new Frigates would be plausible? So would buying AU's ANZAC frigates - at that time - represent value for money to the NZ tax-payer and our Defense Force or would it just be an expediency for AU and the ADF?
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Post by macnz on Sept 7, 2014 17:54:29 GMT 12
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Post by macnz on Aug 20, 2014 2:58:10 GMT 12
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Post by macnz on Aug 19, 2014 10:40:28 GMT 12
I'l be impressed if NZ has the foresight to invest in these great aircraft. Would make a great ANZAC contribution working alongside AU LHDs and our own Canterbury. And a great platform to NZ realising NZDF's force strategy - forget about Chinooks - old tech let Aussies have those. Ospreys could also positively support both the extended life Orions (SAR) and Hercs (tactical transport)in their roles too while NZDF decide those successors. Be interesting to read how they have performed up in Alaska.
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Post by macnz on Aug 19, 2014 10:17:35 GMT 12
some more of his "hints" being promoted. www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/australia-considering-more-c-17s-kc-30-tankers-402771/Agree, the govt appear to throw their weight behind big $ defense procurement quite "liberally" these days. Interesting at the same time they are calling into question the DMO's ability to manage and oversee procurements. I agree the F35s, additional P8s, new subs, UAVs, AWDs, LHDs ...you wonder how much can be put on budget lay-by to 2020 Must be how the ruskies felt in the 80s during their arms race. Wonder how far AU & NZ prepared to go to keep skin in the game with rest of Asia
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