Exercise Imperial Zephyr -

[chopper2004]

[SLXOwft]

Short Ex Imperial Zephyr video, kicking up the dust at NAF El Centro 'Pearl of the Desert'

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Idle thought, but will CSAR be a role for the ('Army's' ) replacement medium lift rotary aircraft or the MH-47G(lite) the UK is acquiring? UK CSAR does seem to be v. low viz, probably good from an operational view but may be not from getting the appropriate funding. Although it is a good idea to have the skills widely distributed surely there should be a unit doing CSAR as its main role and acting centre of excellence (There may be and I am just unaware - replacement of 28 sqn E flt?). If an S-70 derivative wins the order how about half a dozen of HH-60Ws? Doesn't a crew (and GEF) taking a PRH into a hostile environment deserve the kit (countermeasures etc.) to maximize survival, if it was me I'd want it.

[minigundiplomat]

By the time you've added all the mission kit and weapons load to an aircraft, a medical team, force protection and the fuel to get to the isolated person(s) then you're really only left with the 47 as an option. CHF are more than capable of a dirty dash across a semi-permissive environment with the EH101 if the carrier was close by and it was short-medium range.

[sycamore]

AAR Tactical tanker would be ideal ...-47 with an internal HDU....

Some 47s and 101 should have probes and tanker capability...unfortunately `top of the pyramid` can`t/won`t think beyond FJs and Voyagers......

[Evalu8ter]

Sycamore, a small batch of AAR probes were purchased with the Merlin Mk3 to enable some form of CSAR capability - and, more recently, Leonardo have conducted some 'prodding' with a C130J. CHF consider it an 'aspiration only' last time I checked (though, of course, they bolted one on the front for the Press Day surrounding the Mk4 conversion). Just as well really as the RN has no organic tanking capability, and relying on shore based tankers does bring in to question just how 'blue water' and truly independent the CSG and LSG are. The FSTA PFI, so it is said by many, has an 'exclusivity contract' that may stand in the way of tanking helicopters from C-130J (shortly for the chop) or A400M anyway. The latter is hardly a poster child for rotary AAR (forcing the German/French militaries to form a joint C-130J Sqn with AAR as a key role), though recent trials may suggest matters are improving. The RAF will need to re-examine the matter when the delayed MH-47Gs arrive. The Chinook HC.3s came with all the fixtures for probes (brackets, fuel galleries, pumps and AAR lights) and the HC.3 simulator could, I think, provide a facsimile of tanking (I certainly flew it 'on station' behind a C130J model), but I don't recall ever seeing any probes delivered. Not sure if -47 plus HDU is worth looking at - just chin off the Merlin and send a fat tank Chinook with a Bob tank or two fitted - it will carry a lot more kit a lot further. The USMC seem to have gone cold on the idea of tanking off the V-22, so, perhaps, the only viable option for the RN is to see if whatever we can launch off the newly requested Cats/Traps for QEC (one assumes MQ-25) can actually fly slowly enough to safely refuel cabs. If not, as the T45/T26 both have CH-47 sized flight decks, place one as a gas station en route….

[Royalistflyer]

I would think that if they do the EMALS sometime after the return from the present cruise, and get the MQ-25, that might solve the problem of the F-35B's short legs

[Video Mixdown]

Originally Posted by Royalistflyer

I would think that if they do the EMALS sometime after the return from the present cruise, and get the MQ-25, that might solve the problem of the F-35B's short legs

How is that relevant to Ex IMPERIAL ZEPHYR?