Sadly it wasn't fixed with French nuclear weapons replacing US once in Germany, because then 1 or 2 squads of Rafales operated by Luftwaffe could had been on the cards. Otherwise it's more important for the new EU army, to know that France is willing to extend the nuclear umbrella. That and joint force projection will be important areas for the EUs future.
Eurofighter Typhoon - Updates and Discussions
- Thread starter Ashwin
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Sadly it wasn't fixed with French nuclear weapons replacing US once in Germany, because then 1 or 2 squads of Rafales operated by Luftwaffe could had been on the cards. Otherwise it's more important for the new EU army, to know that France is willing to extend the nuclear umbrella. That and joint force projection will be important areas for the EUs future.
Typhoon takes over Tornados weapons and most likely the Recce Lite pod, Rafale can't offer the same.
Luftwaffe Typhoon are currently upgraded with Brimstone, GBU 48 and LJDAM, beyond Rafales strike capabilities in CAS and interdiction.
With Brimstone, SPEAR 3 is a likely addition for SEAD too, but during ILA 2018 AARGM and SPICE 250 were also proposed. Either weapon would make the EF better to replace ECR Tornados too.
Luftwaffe doesn't have maritime attack roles anymore, no point for Rafale either.
Which leaves deepstrike with cruise missiles, as the only role of the Tornado, where Rafale would be the better choice for Germany (unless the CFTs get funded) ☺
It's dumb. Russia and China have no standards whatsoever when supplying weapons. If we don't supply them, they will step in. Germany's position achieves nothing constructive.
First RAF Typhoon use of Brimstone missile destroys ISIS boat in Syria
Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4, July 17, 2011. Image: Ronnie Macdonald/flickr/CC BY 2.0
Home/Technology/First RAF Typhoon use of Brimstone missile destroys ISIS boat in SyriaAIRTECHNOLOGYWAR
First RAF Typhoon use of Brimstone missile destroys ISIS boat in Syria
FERGUS KELLY FEBRUARY 22, 2019
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A U.K. Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon used a brimstone missile to destroy a boat used by Islamic State in Syria, the RAF said Friday, February 22 release, marking the first time the aircraft has deployed the weapon system.
On February 19, a Typhoon deployed to the Euphrates river “where a boat used by Daesh had been identified and was destroyed using the Brimstone missile,” the release said, adding that the RAF on February 11 destroyed two ISIS strong-points, including a heavy machine-gun position, using Paveway IV laser-guided bombs.
Strikes against ISIS “have decreased in regularity this month, with the terrorists confined to a tiny enclave of territory where there is a significant number of civilians, who are being transported to safety by Syrian Democratic Forces,” it added.
Typhoons were upgraded with Brimstone in January, as the RAF’s Tornado multirole jet fleet nears retirement. Brimstone live firing trials from the aircraft were completed successfully in November 2017.
In March 2018, the U.K awarded MBDA a £400 million contract to produce Brimstone air-to-surface missiles to extend its service life beyond 2030 and integrate the weapons system on RAF Typhoons.
MBDA is jointly owned by BAE Systems, Airbus and Leonardo.
Dual Mode Brimstone air-to-surface missiles carried by a Reaper UAS. A Brimstone training missile is on the left. Image: MBDA
Brimstone is an air-launched ground-attack missile developed by MBDA for the RAF, specifically to target enemy armor. The Brimstone launcher carries three missiles in a single weapon station.
The weapon uses a tandem shaped-charge warhead, making it more effective against modern tanks than similar weapons like the AGM-65G Maverick. The warhead uses a smaller initial charge to initiate reactive armor, followed by a larger charge designed to penetrate the base armor.
Brimstone is used by the U.K.’s Tornado squadrons in Iraq and Syria as part of Operation Shader and has also been used on operations in Afghanistan and Libya. The missile entered service in 2005. Laser guidance was added in 2008 to a dual-mode variant after experience in Afghanistan.
The new-build missiles incorporate upgrades to Brimstone that have taken place over recent years, including, enhanced autopilot, the Dual Mode SAL/millimetric wave (mmW) seeker, and the insensitive munition-compliant rocket motor and warhead.
MBDA has said the Brimstone missile is expected to be used by British Army Apache attack helicopters and integrated on the RAF’s new Protector medium-altitude, long-endurance UAVs that are replacing MQ-9 Reaper drones. The Protector is a Reaper variant.
Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4, July 17, 2011. Image: Ronnie Macdonald/flickr/CC BY 2.0
Home/Technology/First RAF Typhoon use of Brimstone missile destroys ISIS boat in SyriaAIRTECHNOLOGYWAR
First RAF Typhoon use of Brimstone missile destroys ISIS boat in Syria
FERGUS KELLY FEBRUARY 22, 2019
FacebookTwitterGoogle+RedditShare via EmailPrint
A U.K. Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon used a brimstone missile to destroy a boat used by Islamic State in Syria, the RAF said Friday, February 22 release, marking the first time the aircraft has deployed the weapon system.
On February 19, a Typhoon deployed to the Euphrates river “where a boat used by Daesh had been identified and was destroyed using the Brimstone missile,” the release said, adding that the RAF on February 11 destroyed two ISIS strong-points, including a heavy machine-gun position, using Paveway IV laser-guided bombs.
Strikes against ISIS “have decreased in regularity this month, with the terrorists confined to a tiny enclave of territory where there is a significant number of civilians, who are being transported to safety by Syrian Democratic Forces,” it added.
Typhoons were upgraded with Brimstone in January, as the RAF’s Tornado multirole jet fleet nears retirement. Brimstone live firing trials from the aircraft were completed successfully in November 2017.
In March 2018, the U.K awarded MBDA a £400 million contract to produce Brimstone air-to-surface missiles to extend its service life beyond 2030 and integrate the weapons system on RAF Typhoons.
MBDA is jointly owned by BAE Systems, Airbus and Leonardo.
Dual Mode Brimstone air-to-surface missiles carried by a Reaper UAS. A Brimstone training missile is on the left. Image: MBDA
Brimstone is an air-launched ground-attack missile developed by MBDA for the RAF, specifically to target enemy armor. The Brimstone launcher carries three missiles in a single weapon station.
The weapon uses a tandem shaped-charge warhead, making it more effective against modern tanks than similar weapons like the AGM-65G Maverick. The warhead uses a smaller initial charge to initiate reactive armor, followed by a larger charge designed to penetrate the base armor.
Brimstone is used by the U.K.’s Tornado squadrons in Iraq and Syria as part of Operation Shader and has also been used on operations in Afghanistan and Libya. The missile entered service in 2005. Laser guidance was added in 2008 to a dual-mode variant after experience in Afghanistan.
The new-build missiles incorporate upgrades to Brimstone that have taken place over recent years, including, enhanced autopilot, the Dual Mode SAL/millimetric wave (mmW) seeker, and the insensitive munition-compliant rocket motor and warhead.
MBDA has said the Brimstone missile is expected to be used by British Army Apache attack helicopters and integrated on the RAF’s new Protector medium-altitude, long-endurance UAVs that are replacing MQ-9 Reaper drones. The Protector is a Reaper variant.
Yes but they should be happy that they can hopp on the arms export train of Germany. They (Dassault) fear about their middle eastern customers, just as BAE/UK now fears for less work. On the other side, Germany is making a U turn and now procures T3B as it seems, to replace T1s, while it surely will get at least some part of the Tornado replacement too. So Germany alone creates more work than the Saudis are negotiating for.
France must wake up and understand, that the future lies in orders for the EU/Europe and NATO partners.
P.S. Do you really believe that Israel/US would allow the sale of NGF/Tempest to Saudi Arabia / UAE?
Now be a dear and look up how much military materiel these countries have been exporting to Saudi Arabia before. And what percentage it represents of their total exports to Saudi Arabia, what percentage it represents of their total military exports, and how relevant it is for their GDP.
Yeah. It's very easy to take the moral high ground when it doesn't hurt your interests.
Besides, I'd like to know how the Meteor is related to the conflict in Yemen; as far as I know the Houthi do not field an air force. However, air-to-ground bombs, now those are used in Yemen. And guess what Germany is still selling to Saudi Arabia? Air-to-ground bombs, exactly! But they've banned exports, supposedly, so how could they still be selling these weapons? That's simple, the bombs are not produced in Germany itself, but in another country (Italy, in this case), by a subsidiary of Rheinmetal, so the German company can still sell them! Bunch of hypocrites.
Germany and Saudi Arabia: Weapons for a 'strategic' partner | DW | 05.12.2018
So, to summarize: Germany is trying to block sales by other countries of weapons that are unrelated to the conflict in Yemen, while still selling themselves weapons that are used in Yemen.
Nope.
Gemeinsame Rüstungsprojekte: Deutsch-französisches Geheimpapier regelt Waffenexporte neu - SPIEGEL ONLINE - Politik
Made sure to shield ourselves from German silliness and hypocrisy.
The future, perhaps, but the present is an important step on the way to the future. I mean, sure, the "let's let our defense industry starve and go bankrupt from lack of customer because we foolishly decided to be moral about arms trade; and now that we don't have a defense industry anymore our European friends will be sure to buy from it!" plan certainly is interesting if you're a stupid moron, but more reasonable people come to a different conclusion. Most European countries prefer to buy American because they want to keep the protection of the USA. They will keep doing that unless the USA stop looking like a credible strategic partner.