The Framers Forum

I wonder how many have noticed that the media are busy slagging off the govenment for not keeping the Harriers and therefore not being able to use them in Libya. The Harriers were of course a great success in the Falklands war, but unfortunately that was back in about 1982 and military aircraft have changed so much since then that the Harrier is no longer be up to the job.

Did anyone notice that we did not use the Harrier in Iraq either. There were plenty of good reasons for that:

Very limted payload capability,
Limited range,
Not capable of supersonic flight,
And the limitations of the Harriers avionics package.

The Harrier has been completely superseeded by modern aircraft and in Iraq we used the Tornado. Guess why?

Massive payload capability,
Excellent range,
Capable of supersonic flight,
Superb on board avionics package.

Both Iraq and Libya had considerable military capability, both are similar in climatic and geographic background, so we have used the Tornado in both situations.

As proud as we rightly were of the Harrier and the prestige it brought our country, it's time to move on! It's now 2011 and the Harriers came into service in the 1970's. Forty years of active service for any front line military aircraft is not only as good as it gets, but it's long past the era when it could make enough difference to justify the cost of keeping it in service.

It is also being claimed that we can no longer protect the Falklands, without the Harrier. That's not true either! We now have an RAF airfield equiped with Tornados on the Falklands and sufficient tanker aircraft to send further squadrons of Tornados to reinforce the existing number of aircraft in a matter of hours.

For Argentilian aircraft to attack the Falklands they are operating at the limit of their range and facing Tornados with full fuel tanks. The Tornado not only will still outclass the current Argentilian aircraft, but the tactical advantage of full fuel tanks is massive, as they can afford to waste fuel and employ whatever tactics they wish.

Unfortunately too many of the British public are likely to believe this rubbish in the media, which is niether credible or even remotely grounded in reality.

All very good points I think, however the Tornado is no spring chicken! I think in these days of information overload, it is so easy to believe it is all true and be influenced by it, especially if it comes from the BBC! It is increasingly tempting not to watch tv news any more as I become more and more likely to throw something at it ..... especially if it has anything to do with politics. It is often said that the young are being disenfranchised, what about the middle aged?

Grumpy old man?

I think what is more worrying is the gross mis management of MOD budgets, they seem to be able to write off billions at a drop of a hat. If money had been spent wisely that perhaps we may have a fighting force equipped with the right kit and not grounded aircraft and mothballed projects. Surely it is not difficult to employ the right people with the right skills to deliver a more efficient service. All I can say is I wish I had such an understanding bank manager.