The Force meets the Royal Air Force

[major_clanger]

I was in our local WH Smiths the other day and saw that they had a load of Star Wars kits in, including Revell's kit of the Snowspeeder from The Empire Strikes Back. It was only £6, and I wanted to have a simple kit to practice some painting and weathering techniques on. Well, I had a free weekend for the first time in ages, and during a recent

Comments

[hano]

I wonder how much utiitiy an aircraft would have on a modern battlefield. A pair of fixed forward firing laser cannons, present targetting difficulties, especially under fire and/or at speed. Unless said speeder is capable of firing while stationary and is fitted with modern fire control and stabilisation systems?
Also, I have questions as to the defensive capabilities of such an aircraft. And is a harpoon guided rope adequate for the needs of the 21st Century?
Just asking...

[major_clanger]

I suspect that an Urgent Operational Requirement to fit Brimstone would be implemented, together with one to add suitable sensors such as FLIR and a laser rangefinder / marked target seeker, given that not all aircrew can be relied upon to 'Use the Force'.

[hano]

That has interesting implications for aircrew recruitment. Should it be a requirement that all trainee pilots have a high midichlorian count? One hesitates to speculate as to what this would mean for the standards of behaviour at Cranwell and in the average Squadron Mess...

[hano]

(although the ability to recover a fighter sized aircraft from a marshy lake would undoubtedly prove useful to an ambitious engineering officer)

[drdoug]

Interesting to see the close air support argument take a different direction to the American F-35 vs A-10 debate.