Swarovski BTX in the Captain's cabin.
RNBWS is - or used to be - a very keen bunch of birders who did some great reporting. I was acquainted with a Royal Navy officer who was very proud of the time his frigate in the North Atlantic hosted a white Gyrfalcon that lived on Fulmars for a couple of weeks.
John
I don't think it's a replacement for Typhoon which carries a boatload of weapons and is the current class of the field in non-stealth dogfighting - but of course it's limited by needing airfields on solid ground.
Surprised to read that around 50 RAF Typhoons are " mothballed " at present ( even if they were part of the first deliveries ). That seems a heck of a lot of airframes to be in storage and unable to go if needed. Cannot quite my head round why they are kept if they would be ineffective ( not upgraded) against a well equipped enemy with state of the Migs and Sus. Also, for FJ, outdogfight the Rafael or Grippen?
P
Out of curiosity, how many battle ready, fastjet pilots do you think the RAF has, perhaps this is part of the reason they are mothballed?
Surprised to read that around 50 RAF Typhoons are " mothballed " at present ( even if they were part of the first deliveries ). That seems a heck of a lot of airframes to be in storage and unable to go if needed. Cannot quite my head round why they are kept if they would be ineffective ( not upgraded) against a well equipped enemy with state of the Migs and Sus. Also, for FJ, outdogfight the Rafael or Grippen?
P