Hobnails / ammo boots of course. 
My parents could hear me about 100 yds away from our house on the way back from cadets. No chance to sneak in late after a âshortâ stop at the pub (over 18 of course!).
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Sadly my OGs were relegated to painting & decorating duties a few years back
Prophetic words. Just been announced that Hercules will remain in service until at least mid 2023 owing to a capability gap against Atlas.
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Though rumour has it Spain want to offload some of the Atlas theyâve committed to buy but arenât yet delivered.
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The USAF have proven their RAPID DRAGON palletised munitions system - ALCMâs on a pallet, lobbed out the back of a C-17, pallet breaks apart, ALCMâs go on their merry way.
The munition theyâve used is the AGM-158 JASSM - but thereâs no reason you couldnât do the same with A400M and Storm Shadow, or Spear Cap 3.
Itâs an idea thatâs been about for decades - this is from when A400M was called Future Large Aircraft, was going to have turbofans and the palletised munitions delivery was called Future Offensive Air System. Early 90âsâŚ?
Bit of a thread revival but the MOD is inviting submissions for the next Strategic Defence Review.
(With the caveat that itâs not the place to air individual grievances!)
Oh no. So they open this up to the trolls who are always comments on UKDJ that the carriers are white elephants, F35 is a waste of money, etc. and then use that feedback as an excuse to scrap the lot.
The UK Government must be just as stuck for ideas as we are, if they are throwing open the SDR to the wider population.
They are up against a couple of factors: the Armed Forces recruitment, training and maintenance establishments have been run down and partly civilianised over the years, to the point where they are incapable of expanding the size of the forces, let alone training and maintaining it.
The UK Armed Forces are incapable of launching large-scale or long-term offensive operations. We donât have the national will to do so, either. I noticed this several years ago when what would have been a sideshow operation like Afghanistan became the main effort: a comparable sized campaign during the Cold War was Northern Ireland, which didnât detract from the forces in West Germany, or prevent wars like the Falklands and the Gulf being fought and won decisively.
The British Army in particular attempt to fill their recruiting shortfall for an unpopular career amongst UK citizens by employing Commonwealth citizens: all very nice for diversity and the recruits who can apply for UK citizenship after five years service, but not so good for those countries who are losing good people. Itâs my main gripe against immigration in all its forms: it doesnât do the home country any good, reinforces economic inequality between nations and is a form of neo-colonialism - extraction of a poor countryâs resources by a rich one.
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