 You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
We live in Witney (near to Brize Norton) and are used to seeing quite a lot of RAF aircraft, but they are mostly Tanker and Transport Aircraft, but I've noticed over the last few days there are much more Fast Jets flying over than usual. I can't tell what they are as they've usually gone by the time I hear them. Are they doing anything specific or is it just coincidence I'm noticing them?
EDIT: I've just realised that there's the NATO summit in South Wales so possibly increased security presence related to that!
NATO Summit
I think Air Force One is currently parked round the corner from you at Fairford too.
military air display this morning in Cardiff for the NATO thingy
They will be doing the air display and also the rolling air patrols.
We appear to be taking this summit quite seriously to have a sub parked up in the bay at Cardiff!
We appear to be taking this summit quite seriously to have a sub parked up in the bay at Cardiff!
is that Sub a Meatball Majo special?
[img] 
[/img]
anyone know what day Obama is due to leave? Want to pop up and see Marine 1 and the Ospreys and any other entourage he has fly back to Fairford.
They are protecting the arterial transport routes to the south west from the separatists.
Bristol airport is crawling with armed police. I think they have them stationed on all the bridges on the route between bristol airport and the hotel in Newport too.
I had to laugh at the JSF, Foxhound and tank parked on the golf course. I am guessing the JSF is a mockup or fuselage only or it would leave some serious impressions in the ground.
Isn't JSF still grounded anyway?
and that 😆
I think they have them stationed on all the bridges on the route between bristol airport and the hotel in Newport too
Aye, there are a pair of armed police stationed on each side of one of the road, it would appear, protecting the Avonmouth motorway bridge on the road insot Shirehampton (not sure if there is similar on the A4 as well, but that's a bit busier). Been there since at least Wednesday. Man, they look bored! 😉
And various other high profile places like hospitals.
Aye, there are a pair of armed police stationed on each side of one of the road, it would appear, protecting the Avonmouth motorway bridge. Been there since at least Wednesday. Man, they look bored!
Bet it's cut down on the speeding 😀
New Police tactic. Sod fines, just shoot!
Maybe they're hunting islamaphobes?
I'm quite keen to understand how fighter jets will be deployed to protect our wonderful leaders.
Maybe drop a few well placed pave bombs into the streets of Newport to disperse freedom fighters? Or tear up the advancing military convoy coming down the M4 with some laser guided Mavericks? Place down some cannon fire on the beaches? Dog fight with inbound ISIS Migs?
Really. Short of shooting down airplanes filled with innocent hijacking victims (who I would argue are more important than our erstwhile leaders), what the hell do they hope to achieve?
"Look at us, we've got fighters. Cower you mortals, cower!!!!"
Practising to bomb the crap out of IS scum, hopefully.
Really. Short of shooting down airplanes filled with innocent hijacking victims (who I would argue are more important than our erstwhile leaders), what the hell do they hope to achieve?
That's exactly what I'd have thought they'd do! If a plane has been hijacked to be used by suicide bombers then the innocent occupiers are likely to be dead either way, but the number of innocent victims on the ground can be massively reduced by shooting down a plane over somewhere less populated!
ignore samuri, he just wanted to show off his knowledge of modern plane bombs.
Fighters fly in formation with AF1 - sacrificial lambs if any missiles are launched 😯
He hasn't got that much knowledge of what our aircraft currently carry!! 😉
[i]Practising to bomb the crap out of IS scum, hopefully.
[/i]
Aye..., and starting another war so they can justify buying more stuff
Are they practicing bomb runs? Does the geography in your locale have any similarities to Syria?
Working down Cardiff Bay and it's been crazy this week - Heads of Defence having a working dinner down here last night - Prince Charles arrived in the afternoon and we must have 1 policeman/woman for every 5 members of public. The rumours of mass hysteria and protest never materialised - 250 protestors at Cardiff Castle last night were outnumbered 10-1 by locals coming down to have a look.
Everyone is leaving Celtic Mannor approx. 3pm today according to the police here in Cardiff as they are moving out to patrol bridges over the main routes to Cardiff, Bristol, Birmingham and London airports.
The presidential convoy is impressive - Marine One - two USAF helicopters and then two Osprey's flying behind - it is one hell of site to see - especially when Cameron turns up in a Jag and a Range Rover (bless him!)
By the way - no sub down the Bay however the US ship that was meant to dock in Cardiff as part of the 'NATO Navy show of power' was too big to fit through the locks so is stationed out in the waters off the Gower coast - some sod in Cardiff Docks will be getting the sack for messing up those measurements saying it would fit 🙂
[i]but the number of innocent victims [/i]
I thought they'd be targeting the leaders of the Western world.
Isn't JSF still grounded anyway?
No idea, but we had two planes fly over to day that look very similar.
We've also been treated to our own private air show this week, with three different helicopters and one of those planes that can turn the propellers vertically flying circles over the Wye valley
Marko - [i]Not a Plane buff[/i]
Marko that's an osprey.
[i]and then two Ospreys flying behind [/i]
I bet that takes some training.
We just closed our Newport office for the week and told people to work from home or one of the other offices if they could get to it.
Joined up government thinking in action
On the news they thought Obama was arriving in the Ospreys. I was thinking "yeah right, as if they would risk their president in one of those".
and then two Ospreys flying behindI bet that takes some training.
🙂
so they can justify buying more stuff
@br I was surprised to read yesterday we spend 2% of GDP on defense, time to get that number up and by a lot.
JSF would be more effective as a weapons platform if it just landed on the aggressors.Biggest waste of money for a long time.
JSF would be more effective as a weapons platform if it just [s]landed[/s] [b]had the engine burst into flames and crashed[/b] on the aggressors.Biggest waste of money for a long time.
Fixed it for you!
Why thank you 😀
Can't believe they have gone to this much effort for 2 days!
With the money they have spent they could have fixed 3rd world famine!
Joking aside, a number of airliners have been pinched in Libya so I'm surprised that Newport isn't ringed with hundreds of missile launchers.
I thought they'd be targeting the leaders of the Western world.
The leaders of the Western world would be the target, but there would also be a lot of other innocent victims.
b r - Member
Practising to bomb the crap out of IS scum, hopefully.Aye..., and starting another war so they can justify buying more stuff
Whatever.
Joking aside, a number of airliners have been pinched in Libya so I'm surprised that Newport isn't ringed with hundreds of missile launchers.
That is slightly worrying but there is a lot of heavily protected airspace between us and Libya and have you seen the state of a lot of the aircraft? I saw quite a modern Airbus with the horizontal stabiliser in a charred heap on the floor as an explosion had ripped the back off and reports were a lot more were full of bullet holes.
Unless the missing ones are in addition to those.
When Bush came to London a fair few years ago the US Secret Service wanted to close the road from the airport (Heathrow) to Downing St from the day before - that'd be the M4/A4 etc...
They did though inspect and seal all the man-holes.
But why he didn't just helicopter in and land nearby (St James's) I'll never know.
I saw the Ospreys over Brecon the other day, quite low - impressive sight, why cant we have some!
I've read that despite having [s]lots of[/s], [s]some[/s], a few nice shiny noisy things that go [i]NEEEEOOOOW[/i] the RAF don't get nearly as much [s]playtime[/s] flying time as they'd like due to budget cuts. So maybe Biggles and Co. saw this conference as a good excuse to [s]rip the place up[/s] get some valuable flying time?
Well they are certainly flying the arse off the type I work on.