Defending the Irish airspace

[CTU]

You know that silence that comes from certain political parties when the Russians come for their flying visits, how long before they are foaming at the mouth about this.



B52 flying over Ireland yesterday apparently.

[Sparky42]

You know that silence that comes from certain political parties when the Russians come for their flying visits, how long before they are foaming at the mouth about this.



B52 flying over Ireland yesterday apparently.

Oh I have little doubt that's going to be an issue all of a sudden, just not one that would be enough for the usual suspects to support spending on the DF of course.

[na grohmiti]

Engine problem caused emergency landing in Fairford on the 5th, flew back to US for full overhaul apparently.

[DeV]

You know that silence that comes from certain political parties when the Russians come for their flying visits, how long before they are foaming at the mouth about this.



B52 flying over Ireland yesterday apparently.

Depends on if they sought and were granted permission.

[EUFighter]

The USAF will have filled a flight plan, talked to and complied with ATC and had their transponder on, they will have complied with the Chicago Convention so no need to deny permission. If the Russians did the same for their Tu-142's then their would be no issue. Difference is the Russians are not doing harmless transit flights they are passive aggression flight design to provoke a response.

[na grohmiti]

The USAF will have filled a flight plan, talked to and complied with ATC and had their transponder on, they will have complied with the Chicago Convention so no need to deny permission. If the Russians did the same for their Tu-142's then their would be no issue. Difference is the Russians are not doing harmless transit flights they are passive aggression flight design to provoke a response.

Sadly, it is the USAF flight that the crusties will get hot and bothered about.

[Jetjock]

Engine problem caused emergency landing in Fairford on the 5th, flew back to US for full overhaul apparently.

The dreaded seven engine approach.

Regarding overflight this like all military overflights will have been subject to the seeking and granting of diplomatic clearance to transit.

ATC are aware in advance of all cleared overflights.

[Sparky42]

The dreaded seven engine approach.

Regarding overflight this like all military overflights will have been subject to the seeking and granting of diplomatic clearance to transit.

ATC are aware in advance of all cleared overflights.

True, but that won’t stop the usual BS...

[The Usual Suspect]

We need to tell the Greens and other tree huggers that the Gripen can fly with bio-fuel (well so can most modern jets if we are honest).

https://www.defense-aerospace.com/ar...en-engine.html

Not just the Greens

Popular Mechanics 15/12/20: RAF to Use Sustainable Fuel Sources

Add some rapeseed oil into this mix and we could even get the Greens and the IFA singing off the same hymn-sheet.

[Flamingo]

Popular Mechanics 15/12/20: RAF to Use Sustainable Fuel Sources

Just like the rest of the RAF then

[DeV]

https://www.raf.mod.uk/news/articles...ir10wdFF0r_s0I

[EUFighter]

I know there are some MiG-21 fanboys around so here is an offer that might just get the juices flowing:

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zon...is-up-for-sale

Some very low time MiG21s along with some C130 and the possibility of a few Jaguars and Alphajets just to round out things. No doubt somewhere someone will find the Swiss bank account number to which the funds are to transferred to.

[GoneToTheCanner]

they revived some of the Alpha jets recently for air strikes on the Boko Haram up North.....the rest are only fit for scrap. Nigerian military are not known for their attention to decent maintenance.

[EUFighter]

they revived some of the Alpha jets recently for air strikes on the Boko Haram up North.....the rest are only fit for scrap. Nigerian military are not known for their attention to decent maintenance.

Nigerian Air Force maintenance, what is that?

[GoneToTheCanner]

I managed to avoid being sent there,for a turbine job but friends have spent many years there on the oil rigs and in helicopter operations and the Western concept of preventative maintenance is, shall we say, a concept not often followed.

[DeV]

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/n...rity-pp0rlkk0q

[na grohmiti]

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/n...rity-pp0rlkk0q

Paywall. Any free source version?

[Sparky42]

Paywall. Any free source version?

Here you go:

The Department of Defence has been told that the number of pilots available in the Air Corps is below the “critical mass” needed for airborne security, new records show.

Eight Irish pilots are being trained with the US military in Alabama, as the Defence Forces warned that premature retirements from the Air Corps had reached a “critical level”.

A record released under a freedom of information request revealed that a business case prepared for the Department of Defence said the number of pilots available in the Air Corps had fallen below “the critical mass required to sustain the provision of airborne defence and security operations”.

The record — which was released with redactions for security reasons — warns that “immediate remedial action” was required to rebuild available manpower.

It said that outsourced training would be crucial “to restore the provision of adequate airborne defence and security services”.

The defence forces and the Department of Defence declined to confirm how much the training was going to cost the taxpayer.

However, internal records from the department give an estimate of €650,000 to €850,000 for the training of four pilots.

The business case said that the Air Corps had been hit by a wave of “premature voluntary retirements”, including the short-notice departure of one senior pilot.

It said that there was a global shortage of pilots, and that these were being felt particularly “acutely” in military air forces.

“The consequence of this is that there is very limited, if any, military pilot training capacity in external air terms,” it said.

It added that the Air Corps had looked at alternative training options in UK joint military and civilian flight schools, but that there was no availability due to “national shortages” there.

The business case said that training for specific military skills such as formation flying, low-level flight operations, tactical flying, and air firing, meant that market options were limited.

The Air Corps had engaged with the military in the UK and the US “at a very senior level” to discuss training options.

“Only the US has indicated that they have the capacity to deal with a military pilot training request,” the document read.

The business case provided further background on just how short-handed the Air Corps had become, with retirements leaving them at a “culmination point”.

Staffing levels of experienced pilots, especially helicopter commanders, were below critical mass, which had a knock-on effect on training.

It added: “Following a research visit to the US Army at Fort Rucker, Alabama to assess the viability of helicopter training, the US have offered military pilot training capacity.

“The training aircraft being offered are similar to [our] aircraft in terms of size, performance, and training output; necessitating minimal ‘differences’ on return … while maintaining training standards and timelines.”

The defence forces also prepared a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis on the move. It said that it would alleviate pressures on the Air Corps, and increase available resources.

However, it added that the Air Corps would no longer have “direct and exclusive supervision” of trainees and that the costs involved were “unavoidable”.

Separately, Department of Defence records also warned of “organisational risk” if steps were not taken to manage the loss of experienced pilots.

A strategic review marked “confidential” stated: “Such a training surge, which is envisaged will last four years, would reduce the overall training pressures on the flying training school; shorten Air Corps cadetships to two years, qualify more pilot officers sooner, and mitigate training pressures risk.”

Asked for comment on the records, the defence forces said that they had nothing to add.

[na grohmiti]

Oh dear.
So let me get this right. We are short of pilots. We are also short of instructors. Because of this we have to train pilots overseas, but our nearest neighbours can't help out because they are also struggling. So we send the trainee heli Pilots to the US, where they will learn on a different type , meaning when they come home qualified, they will still have to be converted? Taking into consideration that while away the Air Corps will have little, if any influence or impact on their training?
Am I missing anything? How do we come back from this? Meanwhile people want the Air Corps to get involved in SAR? Who will fly the Helicopters we Don't have?

[GoneToTheCanner]

You'd wonder why pilot and tech retention is so bad, when the aviation industry is operating at a shadow of it's former self and will take months to reinvigorate itself. Pay for all grades and ranks of pilots and techs is not good, right now and Irish firms are not leaders in this regard. Companies like Dublin Aerospace can't keep skilled techs and they are leaving there in droves because the pay scales are miserable and they are going into pharma/IT/electronics/plant maintenance. I know of at least two furloughed pilots who are driving delivery vans! The grass is most definitely not greener outside.

[EUFighter]

There is nothing new on "The Times" report, it has been in the public domain for a long time now, we have even discussed it already.
We are all aware that we have pilots doing helicopter training in the US, on UH-72s no doubt, the slightly bigger brother of the EC135.

What it does show up is how easily a small air force can be brought to its knees. A small force can only have a handful of instructors, thus if one or two leave it is usually enough to cause the system to collapse. Thus the idea of using foreign training is something that should be considered normal, a standard practice for a tiny military like ours.

[Tempest]

Asking the ex-Donners here, is there any scope to bring in Officers or SNCO's to the Don from Army posts to take up some of the non-flying roles that are keeping pilots hours down?

[na grohmiti]

There is nothing new on "The Times" report, it has been in the public domain for a long time now, we have even discussed it already.
We are all aware that we have pilots doing helicopter training in the US, on UH-72s no doubt, the slightly bigger brother of the EC135.

What it does show up is how easily a small air force can be brought to its knees. A small force can only have a handful of instructors, thus if one or two leave it is usually enough to cause the system to collapse. Thus the idea of using foreign training is something that should be considered normal, a standard practice for a tiny military like ours.

While the details were in the public domain, the scale and reasoning was not. From a rotary wing perspective, it looks as if the Air Corps is no longer self-sufficient. For a supposedly neutral country that is a bad move, and big decisions need to be made quickly, before the blue uniform becomes an extinct species.
While life on civvy street may not be all rosy in the garden, those who make the transition are probably happy to take the pay cut, for the work/life balance that a civvy job brings. Mate of mine still laughs when he tells of when he left the NS as a techie(spark, but with IT) going to a civvy job when he was sent on training courses where he didn't have to share a room with 10 others, and when the course overran and he missed connecting trains and had to get taxis he wasn't out of pocket, and didn't get a bollicking from the boss for letting something that was beyond his control happen. He did enjoy, 2 weeks after starting his new job, getting a phonecall from the Orderly room telling him he was on a GoH the following week, and the audible confusion from the other end when he told them he would have to clear it with his boss first.
The DF, as an organisation, treats it's people very poorly. Not as a matter of policy, but because of the number of people who have shit days, passing the shit on to those below. Pay is just the final straw. Fix that first, then fix the rest.

[na grohmiti]

Asking the ex-Donners here, is there any scope to bring in Officers or SNCO's to the Don from Army posts to take up some of the non-flying roles that are keeping pilots hours down?

Used to be that Cadets who failed to make the flying grade, got nice non-flying office jobs, before getting the message and moving on to the Army. Have to wonder though, are their many non flying jobs that can be done by a non-pilot? Even the head of Ryanair and Aer Lingus were both pilots once.

[GoneToTheCanner]

Yes and no.Some of the "real soldiers" who are transferred in detest the place and can't wait to get out and make their feelings plain and others fit right in and make a good and valid contribution to the place. It depends on the individual. It also depends on the job. Some jobs,like ATC,have relatively long lead in times so there is no quick replacement of personnel. It isn't always about ground jobs depriving pilots of flying time; every pilot always knows he has a dual role from day 1. Quite often,it's aircraft downtime is eating into annual hours or it's a consequence of the majority of flying being unscheduled or ad-hoc in nature. Flights are routinely cancelled because of weather or other third-party factors,such as an issue with the recipient Army unit or because a Govt dept cancels a MATS mission.