Typhoon's first mission?

news.bbc.co.uk...

Two new RAF Typhoon jets shadowed a Russian bomber heading for Britain, the Ministry of Defence has said.

That Russian sabre-rattling does seem to be getting louder..

Edit: The video link on the beeb's website seems to confirm it, talking about the Typhoon's first interception..

Mind you, they were only put into service in July, still it got them out of the barn for a bit

[edit on 21-8-2007 by Stoo]

I wouldn't mind so much if it was just the usual sabre rattling during the Cold War, when such Russian/Soviet missions were commonplace.

But in the (hopefully) unlikely event of a 9/11 attack against the south east UK, some of the RAF's finest are going to be fannying around over the North Atlantic instead.

Nice picture of the Typh and the Bear.


Any guesses on the weapons wing loadout for that Typh?
By the looks of that fuel pod, it seems the RAF jet was prepped for a long chase!

Originally posted by Daedalus3
By the looks of that fuel pod, it seems the RAF jet was prepped for a long chase!

It looks like it, on the video link on that page it mentions how the Bears are coming in from over the north pole, then going down the west coast of the isles, so I imagine that they Typhoons would be shadowing from north of Scotland and well past the south of the Isles, which is a fairly long round trip considering they scrambled from south Lincolnshire.

Are the ADV Tornados still based up in the north?

Any guesses on the weapons wing loadout for that Typh?

It not exactly clear on the photo but it appears to match the loads seen on 'official' RAF Typhoon photos of four ASRAAM under the wings complementing the four AMRAAM under the belly which, I guess, has become the standard load for air defence along with the 250 gal tanks.

Are the ADV Tornados still based up in the north?

Yes, 43 and 111 Sqns are still active at Leuchars with the Tornado F3 and they are sharing QRA duties with the Typhoons on rotation as the new Typhoon crews work up to full readiness.

[edit on 22-8-2007 by waynos]

Cheers for that mate. I haven't kept up with things air force(s) related for some years.

That really is a sexy bit of kit

I still get goosebumps when I remember the airshow I first saw it at

Wyanos what are those wingtip pods? You'll have to forgive me but I am not as familiar with British kit...

[edit on 22-8-2007 by WestPoint23]

Now, I may be reading too much into the picture (sorry, but I'm not that tech-savvy so I can't post the pic or a link to it ), but has anyone taken a good look at the Bear "H"?

It was my understanding that the Russian Air Force colours were white, blue and red (please correct me if I'm wrong here). Unlike the Bear, which is carrying a big red star, symbol of the Soviet Union, on it's wings and tail.

Now I've read opinions that this is Vladimir Putin's idea of sabre-rattling, or grandstanding, but the big red star is a symbol of things past that ought to stay in the past. Putin had enough to say about the UK having an outdated Imperialist attitude, regarding the request to extradite a Russian national to face a murder charge in the UK. Maybe it's time he listened to his own advice.

On the other hand, the Typhoons look pretty good in the photos (probably because they're not the butt ugly 2-seaters).

KW

Originally posted by KwazyWabbit
It was my understanding that the Russian Air Force colours were white, blue and red (please correct me if I'm wrong here). Unlike the Bear, which is carrying a big red star, symbol of the Soviet Union, on it's wings and tail.

Well, there national flag is white, blue and red. But the red star has always been used as a roundel on all Russian aircraft. I don't think that will ever change, not in the foreseeable future anyway.

Originally posted by KwazyWabbit
It was my understanding that the Russian Air Force colours were white, blue and red (please correct me if I'm wrong here). Unlike the Bear, which is carrying a big red star, symbol of the Soviet Union, on it's wings and tail.

Its been like that ever since the break-up of the USSR in 1990.

Russian Roundel

Originally posted by WestPoint23
Wyanos what are those wingtip pods? You'll have to forgive me but I am not as familiar with British kit...

[edit on 22-8-2007 by WestPoint23]

Mainly the Defence Aids Sub Systems, including the following:

Port side - Radar Warning Receiver (RWR), Missile Approach Warner (MAW), Laser Warning Receiver (LWR), Electronic Counter Measures (ECM)

Starboard side - Electronic Counter Measures (ECM), Towed Radar Decoy (TRD)

Location of these systems may differ between airforces and Tranche types, so don't be surprised to see them elsewhere on the aircraft.

Originally posted by WestPoint23
Wyanos what are those wingtip pods? You'll have to forgive me but I am not as familiar with British kit...

[edit on 22-8-2007 by WestPoint23]

The starboard wing has a towed decoy system and the port wingtip contains the rear ESM/ ECM system and the defensive aids sub-system (DASS) pod.