Not_a_boffin
War Hero
There is certainly a case for looking at their force structure, particularly for rotorheads and fast jet. There are some things that only the RAF can do - long range heavy transport and tanking and some of the high-end ISTAR bits. You could never do them any other way, so get them some more heavy airlift and FSTA and let them crack on.
On the r/w front, the situation is less clear. The CHF & TWA (as was) seem to be able to generate large numbers of aircraft / sorties from one base and three and a bit squadrons, flying very old a/c. Not quite the same from Benson & Odiham - they probably manage the sorties, but with a lot more manpower. At the end of the day, they support and are tasked by troops - why not put them there.
More controversially, do we need a land-based fast jet force that cannot (in the main) deploy aboard ship? The capability argument is largely due to our legacy CVS and STOVL fleets - the same did not apply in the 70s when Crab Air was potentially highly deployable (Phantoms & Buccs anyone?). It certainly wouldn't apply against a US CVW with F14/E2/F18 (preferably A6) - would you back a bunch of Tornados (F3 and GR4) against that? The argument that only the RAF can defend the UK is daft - we've just retired the best radar/missile combo from the RN. If the RN flew F14 or the like, no-one would raise the issue.
Their final argument tends to be that they can get to theatre quickest. Problem is, all their F34 (should be F44) and munitions come by sea, unless they are fortunate enough to get full HNS (it's not just runways required). With a carrier, it all comes with you (and the RFA).
Problem is that we've once again missed the boat as Typhoon is too late to cancel. There will be 2 RN squadrons (plus up to two RAF) with F-35 that can go to sea, from a total of ~20 squadrons. If we're still putting people in fast jets in twenty years, we should be looking to buy high-performance aircraft that can fly off ships and form ~12-15 squadrons of em total. If the RAF don't want to go to sea occasionally then tough, re-badge them. It would also give the WAFU fraternity some sort of sustained break between ops/deployments (ditto CHF who are even busier). Shut down some of the RAF stations and you might also save some money.
It'll never happen, although its funny seeing the light-blue boys going ape on the PPrune forums, banging on about how only the RAF understand application of airpower doctrine etc - very joint thinking.....
On the r/w front, the situation is less clear. The CHF & TWA (as was) seem to be able to generate large numbers of aircraft / sorties from one base and three and a bit squadrons, flying very old a/c. Not quite the same from Benson & Odiham - they probably manage the sorties, but with a lot more manpower. At the end of the day, they support and are tasked by troops - why not put them there.
More controversially, do we need a land-based fast jet force that cannot (in the main) deploy aboard ship? The capability argument is largely due to our legacy CVS and STOVL fleets - the same did not apply in the 70s when Crab Air was potentially highly deployable (Phantoms & Buccs anyone?). It certainly wouldn't apply against a US CVW with F14/E2/F18 (preferably A6) - would you back a bunch of Tornados (F3 and GR4) against that? The argument that only the RAF can defend the UK is daft - we've just retired the best radar/missile combo from the RN. If the RN flew F14 or the like, no-one would raise the issue.
Their final argument tends to be that they can get to theatre quickest. Problem is, all their F34 (should be F44) and munitions come by sea, unless they are fortunate enough to get full HNS (it's not just runways required). With a carrier, it all comes with you (and the RFA).
Problem is that we've once again missed the boat as Typhoon is too late to cancel. There will be 2 RN squadrons (plus up to two RAF) with F-35 that can go to sea, from a total of ~20 squadrons. If we're still putting people in fast jets in twenty years, we should be looking to buy high-performance aircraft that can fly off ships and form ~12-15 squadrons of em total. If the RAF don't want to go to sea occasionally then tough, re-badge them. It would also give the WAFU fraternity some sort of sustained break between ops/deployments (ditto CHF who are even busier). Shut down some of the RAF stations and you might also save some money.
It'll never happen, although its funny seeing the light-blue boys going ape on the PPrune forums, banging on about how only the RAF understand application of airpower doctrine etc - very joint thinking.....