"All of Vlad's forces and all of Vlad's men, are out to put Humpty together again." (14 Viewers)

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If helicopters aren't obsolete, as decried by some YouTube experts, Ukraine needs replacement choppers, yesterday. Whatever airframe we got that's available, send it. I hope that the necessary supply chains have already been anticipated.
 
GTX said:
www.forbes.com

Ukrainian Crews Set A Complex Missile Trap For Russia’s Best Radar Plane

Exactly how the Ukrainians shot down the four-engine A-50 is unclear, but analyst Tom Cooper has a theory. Ukrainian missile crews lured the Russian crew into a trap.
www.forbes.com www.forbes.com
Click to expand...
It's interesting also to read this piece, linked in the Article:
xxtomcooperxx.substack.com

Ukraine War, 16 January 2024: Scratch one A-50

Hello everybody! So much is going on the last two days - in Ukraine and in the Middle East - that I can’t even decide what way to look as first and what to comment about. Even less so can I summarise all of this in form of ‘useful’ articles - at once. Sure, I’ll try, but…
xxtomcooperxx.substack.com xxtomcooperxx.substack.com

By the way, we can be sure it was not a PAC-3 patriot that hit the il-22, PAC-3 are hit to kill and rely on kinetic energy, it must have been a proximity fussed PAC-2 jugging by the many holes in the aircraft tail.
 
SaparotRob said:
If helicopters aren't obsolete, as decried by some YouTube experts, Ukraine needs replacement choppers, yesterday. Whatever airframe we got that's available, send it. I hope that the necessary supply chains have already been anticipated.
Click to expand...

Helicopters are like anything. They are only obsolete when used in the wrong context or role.

The Apache has the ability to remain hidden and fire and forget.
 
DerAdlerIstGelandet said:
I took these in 04 in Iraq. Anybody notice something odd about it?
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The tail rotor looks like two off centre blade sets instead of a single four blade prop - like below.

mh-53-fuselage-tail-rotor-11.jpg


At least to my civie, non-pilot/forces eyes.
 
nuuumannn said:
To supply the aircraft to Ukraine means training, support and parts supply, which the Australians are probably unwilling to provide because a) the manpower and expertise to do so has been dispersed/wound down, and b) the cost and inconvenience of regenerating all that. It probably works out cheaper to scrap and bury, as the govt wants to do.

Airbus (NHI) also will want input into maintaining serviceability and therefore agreements with Ukraine will need to be made. Passing on modern combat aircraft to a foreign power that doesn't operate that type is not an easy process, particularly if the nation disposing the stuff doesn't hold design authority.

The entire MRH-90 programme was poorly run from the outset and blame, if any is to be directed at the Australian govt for bungling it from the outset. Obviously Airbus supply issues are responsible for part supply, but much of the criticism of the programme failing has been levelled at the govt procurement process and the ADF requirement and sustainability side of things, i.e. home-made problems. The ADF didn't want the MRH-90 to begin with, but the govt of the day ordered it over the ADF's preferred aircraft. Bearing in mind the muddled history of the programme and how many hoops Ukraine might have to jump through to get the helicopters, Ukraine might not actually want them...
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New Zealand's stuck with the NH-90, so would likely be able to provide training and support - one of the reasons we went that route was for commonality with Aus.

A fair amount of that blame for the failure of the program should also be directed to the ADF. They were hell-bent on keeping with what they had that I wouldn't be surprised if they were less than vigilant with how they ran they MRH-90 program.
 
gumbyk said:
New Zealand's stuck with the NH-90, so would likely be able to provide training and support - one of the reasons we went that route was for commonality with Aus.

A fair amount of that blame for the failure of the program should also be directed to the ADF. They were hell-bent on keeping with what they had that I wouldn't be surprised if they were less than vigilant with how they ran they MRH-90 program.
Click to expand...

The RNZAF's experiences with the NH-90 have been entirely different to those of Australia, No.3 Sqn having been able to maintain a good state of airworthiness. In fact, the highest houred NH-90s serve with the RNZAF. The first in-service NH-90 to achieve 2,000 flying hours was NZ3302.

Yes, in auditing reports released on the subject, the ADF's management of the technical aspects of the project have been criticised, but given that the ADF is a government department, the Australian government is definitely to blame collectively.
 
nuuumannn said:
The RNZAF's experiences with the NH-90 have been entirely different to those of Australia, No.3 Sqn having been able to maintain a good state of airworthiness. In fact, the highest houred NH-90s serve with the RNZAF. The first in-service NH-90 to achieve 2,000 flying hours was NZ3302.

Yes, in auditing reports released on the subject, the ADF's management of the technical aspects of the project have been criticised, but given that the ADF is a government department, the Australian government is definitely to blame collectively.
Click to expand...
I worked for a company that was consulting to the ADF and was trying desperately to p[rove that they could adequately sustain the AH-1 and UH-1's. They spent huge sums trying to do this.
 
gumbyk said:
I worked for a company that was consulting to the ADF and was trying desperately to p[rove that they could adequately sustain the AH-1 and UH-1's. They spent huge sums trying to do this.
Click to expand...

AH-1s? Was this during procurement of the Tigers? How long ago was this, Aaron? The Aussies retired their UH-1s years ago now, you must be getting old... :D
 
nuuumannn said:
The RNZAF's experiences with the NH-90 have been entirely different to those of Australia, No.3 Sqn having been able to maintain a good state of airworthiness. In fact, the highest houred NH-90s serve with the RNZAF. The first in-service NH-90 to achieve 2,000 flying hours was NZ3302.

Yes, in auditing reports released on the subject, the ADF's management of the technical aspects of the project have been criticised, but given that the ADF is a government department, the Australian government is definitely to blame collectively.
Click to expand...

and many who have had a lot to do with them say RAAF stands for Real Amateur Air Force
 
Ok, so here is the answer to my previous trivia question. The Apache in my pics is from the South Carolina Army National Guard. For some reason they did not paint all their Apaches in the non-Standard Army OD Green color.

It's the USMC grey color. They even put in the great shark mouth on them.

I personally really like it. Grey believe it or not is better than OD Green. Why? Grey blends into the horizon/sky better. Its harder for someone on the ground to pick it out.

Here is a pic of mine of a standard US Army OD green Apache to compare.

IMG_2505.jpeg


IMG_2502.jpeg
 
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