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- š« F-16s for Ukraine: The "Magic" Cure or Just More Headaches?
š« F-16s for Ukraine: The "Magic" Cure or Just More Headaches?
AC-130 go Down Under - The little Coup d'Ć©tat That Never Was
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-Afghan Proverb
šļø Latest podcast Bro Chat 14.0 - We hear about Benderās bolstering diplomacy in his F-35, how hitting a narrow island can be challenging, and a few other shenanigans.
šļøLive Stream UPDATE The date might shift to Wed or Fri, standby for words. Regardless drop on over to Youtube and click ānotify meā on this link
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Radar Scope:
Ukraine is soon to receive and start flying the greatest fighter jet man has created, the Mighty Viper. The U.S. approved Denmark and the Netherlands transfer of F-16 (Why does Denmark and the Netherlands need permission to transfer F-16? See Bottom of newsletter).
Letās skip the politics and hold off on hanging the party banners so we can take a deeper look and then talk about our feelings.
1. Delivery ā More than Just a FedEx Shipment: This isn't quite overnight shipping, despite the F-16ās top end speed of mach 2.05. The Danes, generous souls that they are, will be taking three years to deliver 19 F-16s. And the Dutch? Still keeping us in suspense about their delivery count and timeline. Bottom line, this isnāt happening fast and will most likely not be a game changer in Ukraineās defense strategy.
2. Training ā It's kinda like riding a bikeā¦but different: Sure, piloting an F-16 might sound cool on paper (or in Top Gun), but it takes more than staying at a Holiday Inn Express. 11 countries are pitching in the fight to train Ukrainian pilots and maintainers. Probably donāt have to say it but I will say itā¦it is going to take considerable time for these pilots and maintainers to fully hone their Viper skills.
3. Maintenance š§ ā Bust out the Flex Sealā¦weāre gonna need it: On a great day, every Ukrainian Viper Driver will land, brush the dust from their left sleeve due to the M61 Vulcan slinging 20MM firecrackers downrange and shaking the cockpit insulation out all over the pilotā¦but once they land the maintenance team takes over. A guess, an F-16 will require about 15 hours of maintenance for every one flight hour. This doesnāt happen all at once but at some point, the piper will come a calling.
4. Parts & Logistics ā Like building IKEA Furniture? Yes? Well do we have the job for you. First, poke yourself in the eye and buckle up. You canāt run down to Autozone and pick up a spare part, shocking. Parts are held in limited stock and often have to be ācannibalizedā from other aircraft or ordered from the Bone Yard. Did I mention the IKEA manual is 45,000 pages in this case (pure guessā¦but itās long stsā¦and itās in English).
5. Contested Environment ā Understatement of the Newsletter ā Ukraine is at war. While some of us thrive under pressure, some might argue this is a sub optimal environment to onboard a new major weapon system. Russian fighters and Surface-to-Air Missiles systems will keep these newly minted Viper Drivers on their toes. Check 6.
āļø AC-130 First Visit to Australia in 60 Yearsā¦or ever. The guys and gals of Air Force Special Operations Command achieved escape velocity and snagged a āgood dealā TDYā¦finally. They are used to hanging around all the āgarden spotsā of the world but they finally made it to Australia. Congrats!
āļø āHe gone!āā¦well U.S. Intelligence Officials Assess Likely āHe Gone!ā Wagner Group leader Yevgeniy Prigozhin is presumed dead. But you already knew that. Straight to No one asked me, but hereās my opinion - If you are going to lead a coup or going to go on a āhikeā to Moscow one weekendā¦you better make it count. This guy far exceeded his life expectancy after his June march.
āļø āThis Ukraine crisis that weāre in right now, this is just the warmup,ā Stratetic Command boss Navy Admiral Charles A. Richard, has warned that the U.S. should anticipate, and prepare for, a protracted conflict with China in the near future.
No one asked me, but hereās my opinion - Juryās out but this one probably wonāt end well.
Why does Denmark and the Netherlands need the permission of the U.S. to give away their F-16ās?
A: Because the Arms Export Control Law says they need to, sure they could ignore it but would they get anymore toys? No. āPursuant to Section 3 of the Arms Export Control Act, if a country to which the United States has provided an item of military equipment wants to transfer that item to another countryā¦the country must first obtain permission from the U.S. Government to do so.ā - U.S. State Department
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