11/17/2016: The Prime Minister of Australia, the Hon Malcolm Turnbull MP, Minister for Defence Industry, the Hon Christopher Pyne MP, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, the Hon Peter Dutton MP, Chief of Air Force, Air Marshal Leo Davies AO, CSC and President Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific of Boeing,…
2016-11-16 By Robbin Laird When one looks at the end of an era, in this case the sun setting on the Tornado in the RAF, one can look backwards or forwards. Looking backwards, there is the legacy and history of the squadrons and of a core-fighting platform in the history…
2016-11-15 By Robbin Laird During my visit to RAF Lossiemouth in late April 2016, I had a chance to meet with the Officer Commanding and members of the Tornado Operational Conversion Unit, XV(R) Squadron. When one looks at the end of an era, in this case the sun setting on…
2016-11-13 By Robbin Laird When I was a kid, I remember the images of deterrence which were provided by strip alert bombers against the Soviet threat. Now we have images in the press of the strip alert Typhoons dealing with the air defence of the United Kingdom against a wider…
2016-11-12 By Robbin Laird During my visit to RAF Lossiemouth in April 2016, there was a chance to talk with the Officer Commanding Engineering and Logistics Wing at RAF Lossiemouth. Obviously, the operation of the Typhoon fleet is dependent upon the engineers and logisticians to forge an effective hub for…
2016-11-11 By Robbin Laird During a visit to RAF Lossiemouth in June 2016, I had to discuss with an experienced Typhoon pilot now in 1 (F) Squadron, the evolution of Typhoon and its performance in recent Middle Eastern operations. This pilot’s background was initially with the Army and then he became a…
2016-11-10 By Robbin Laird RAF Lossiemouth currently is a Typhoon and Tornado base, but with the Tornados to be phased out within the next few years, the Typhoons will be joined by the P-8, which will probably operate as well from Lossie. This provides the opportunity to integrate the Typhoons with…
2016-11-10 By Robbin Laird During my visit to RAF Lossiemouth in April 2016, I had the chance to talk with OC II(AC) Sqn, the commander of one of world’s oldest and most famous squadrons. He was the squadron commander who led the transition from RAF Marham to Lossie in 2014.…