Vampyre

They never said they were going to be women.

The end of the world... and...

Mainly upgraded avionics, radios and radar. Evidently the upgrade brought the CE EE and EDA to the same standard.

Reading through the post I cannot see how you came to that conclusion. They are looking for feedback as to the versions their customer base wants them to build. I hope they do the Mirage F1 as generic C or E versions that can be tailored to the air force one wants to portray in missions. Of course, if they stuck with strictly Spanish air force versions, I would prefer the EE as it has more flexability for both ground attack and A/A. The F1M also looks good as well. If they didn't stick with just Spanish aircraft I'd also like to see the AZ, CT, CR, EQ-4 and EQ-6.

I was on the Kitty Hawk in Oct of 2000. We were one day out of a port call in Otaru Japan and the Russians came out to visit unannounced. A Su-24MR with a Su-27 escort made about 13 (that I counted) low level passes over the ship and we did not shoot it down. We had a Tyco Cruiser with us... I think it was the USS Port Royal, which could have easily eliminated any hostile aircraft threatening the Carrier. The ROE in place most of the time will not allow us to just shoot aircraft down with confirming their intentions to be hostile. As for the Iranians, I have seen them fly by my boat in the Persian Gulf with F-4's and P-3F's. Of course they were escorted every time I saw them. As for the story above, it is entirely plausible. I understand the guy in the story is the same guy that made the 2014 Hornet Ball video. If you would like to find out for sure, Wingnut is pretty active on his youtube channel... I believe he is still with VFA-137 as well.

Actually it's a Tu-95RT Bear D. The Phantoms look to be F-4N's from VF-51 and VF-111. The AV-8A is indeed from VMA-231. It is unusual to see attack types up for a peek at the bad guys. Heres an A-7E Escorting another Bear: Another Corsair Escorting an Il-38 May: An A-6E escorting a Tu-16 And an A-4 escorting a Tu-126 Moss:

Well, in its defense, it is a dedicated interceptor and most large aircraft (bombers, transports, et cetera) it is intended to intercept are not stealthy at all. Of course, it does have a far better chance of detecting stealth aircraft than other interceptors due to it's very large and powerful radar so that is a plus for the platform as well.

Just because there is a support and upgrade contract for the platform does not mean it will not get axed. It kind of reminds me of how the A-6 Intruder went out in the early 90's. There was a contract to re-wing the intruders that the Navy still had to honor so as soon as the new wings were installed, the aircraft were sent to the boneyard or dumped in the ocean to make artificial reefs... Such a waste. I agree the A-10 is a needed platform and luckily the Congress does too. Hopefully it can be saved until a suitable replacement comes along (not a F-35).

Below is an exerpt from the Navy Fraternization Policy- The Navy has historically relied upon custom and tradition to define the bounds of acceptable personal relationships among its members. Proper social interaction among officer and enlisted members has always been encouraged as it enhances unit morale and esprit de corps. At the same time, unduly familiar personal relationships between officers and enlisted members have traditionally been contrary to naval custom because they undermine the respect for authority, which is essential to Navy's ability to accomplish its military mission. Over 220 years of seagoing experience have demonstrated that seniors must maintain thoroughly professional relationships with juniors at all times. This custom recognizes the need to prevent use of a senior grade or position in such a way that it results in (or gives the appearance of) favoritism, preferential treatment, personal gain, or involves actions that otherwise may reasonably be expected to undermine good order, discipline, authority, or high unit morale. In like manner, custom requires that junior personnel recognize and respect the authority inherent in a senior's grade, rank, or position. This recognition of authority is evidenced by observance and enforcement of the military courtesies and customs that have traditionally defined proper senior-subordinate relationships. "Fraternization" is the term traditionally used to identify personal relationships that contravene the customary bounds of acceptable senior-subordinate relationships. Although it has most commonly been applied to officer-enlisted relationships, fraternization also includes improper relationships and social interaction between officer members as well as between enlisted members. Historically, fraternization is a gender-neutral concept. Its focus is on the detriment to good order and discipline resulting from the erosion of respect for authority inherent in an unduly familiar senior-subordinate relationship, not the sex of the members involved. In this sense, fraternization is a uniquely military concept, although abuse of a senior's position for personal gain and actual or perceived preferential treatment are leadership and management problems that also arise in civilian organizations. In the context of military life, the potential erosion of respect for the authority and leadership position of a senior in grade or rank can have an enormously negative effect on good order and discipline and seriously undermine a unit's effectiveness. Therefore, prohibition of fraternization serves a valid, mission essential purpose. This policy is about the good of the team, not the individuals. Because we do our jobs correctly by training our replacements there are qualified leaders ready to fill any vacancy left by the removal from command of Captain Winters. More information can be found in OPNAV 5370.2C.

I remember seeing the VC-10's from Brize Norton fly over all the time when I lived at RAF Little Rissington in England. My dad was in the USAF and stationed at RAF Fairford. The approach pattern for RAF Brize Norton went right over us. I used to parascend at Little Rissington back in the late 80's and a buddy of mine had a very close encounter with a VC-10 while flying a fast parachute he had never flown before. He was really nervous about flying the chute and when we got him up there and he released the drogue and started on his way back down one of these big old tankers comes cruising by rather close to him. He freaked out and ended up landing on a gravel road and falling over then proceeded to get drug by the parachute for about 75ft. The wind was only about 15-20 knots and by the time we all hopped in the Land Rover and drove over to him he managed to get out of the chute. He was all beat up by the road and looked pretty bad. He never wanted to fly that chute again for as long as I was still there.

The mission started immediately after I reviewed the briefing for a sweep over the Ardennes. As I mounted my Me-410B-2 heavy fighter with two 30mm MK103, four MG151/20 and two 13mm machine guns for the sweep over Belgium with my tail gunner I noted the weather had cleared up quite well. We have had reports of enemy activity all around the city of Bastogne. I taxied to the end of runway 08 and waited for my wingman who arrived a minute later. Another minute later and we were lined up on the runway and performing a section takeoff. Once airborne we headed northwest at about while spreading into a line abreast at low level. I was on the left hand side of the formation and was keeping an eye out for contacts. On our way to the front we stayed low to avoid the marauding allied fighters flying high overhead. As we entered the area I immediately picked up a contact at 11 o'clock and called tally. My wingman acknowledged and covered me as I turned to intercept. The enemy aircraft also noticed us and took a heading towards us. I put him in my front windshield and ID'd him as a FW-190A-8 when we passed head to head. It looks like the Luftwaffe is out in force today. I gave him a salute and continued our sweep. It was only after we had our formation set up again that the next contact was sighted, this time at my 10 o'clock position. I called tally and my wingman acknowledged and fell into position to cover me. I once again put the bogie in my front windshield and held my fire until I could ID him...A Tempest Mk V... Bandit Bandit I cried in the mic as I let loose on the massive firepower of my Me-410 in a quick head on shot. The enemy was directly in my line of fire and I registered multiple hits on his nose and left wing. As I passed him on the right I watched him fly by with his engine stopped and on fire and his right wing flipping around beside him. Still flying very low, I watched him smash into the ground in a glorious fireball in my rear quarter. Splash one. OK, time to reset the formation. Just as we were trying to get back to our heading my wingman called a tally on a fight about 10km to the north so I took position below and behind him and followed him towards the fight. As I watched him merge with the fight he took a shot at an aircraft and continue on straight ahead. He picked up an enemy P-47D Thunderbolt on his tail which, through design was magically lining himself up in my gun sight... perfect. I waited until he was squarely in my gun sight and pulled my trigger. I registered hits on his aft fuselage which immediately separated his tail from the rest of the aircraft and his plane crashed right in front of me scattering parts all over the place. I looked to the left at my 5 o'clock position just in time to see another P-47D crashing. My wingman confirmed it was his kill a moment later. It turns out that it was not an aerial fight but the two P-47's attacking a German convoy on the road below. We decided to continue with the mission and pushed on northwest toward a German controlled airfield. As we approached the area we notices a lot of activity around the airfield. I saw several FW-190A's and Bf-109G's fighting with allied Spitfires and P-38 Lightnings. this time we stayed in line abreast and blew through the fight over the airfield. As we emerged on the other side I noticed two large aircraft approaching with several smaller planes escorting. I took a heading to the rapidly approaching aircraft and identified them as two C-47's, a Spitfire and two P-51D Mustang's. The C-47's were trying drop paratroopers to capture the airfield we had just passed over. I took a head on shot at one of the C-47's and lopped the entire cockpit and one of the engines off with one burst which sent him crashing to the forest below. My wingman did a head on pass with a Spitfire and exploded the Spitty in the air but not before he was mortally wounded. He tried to make it back to the airbase we just passed over but bled out and crashed just short of the airfield. I circled around after my initial pass to try to get the second C-47 which was rapidly approaching the drop zone at the airfield. The problem was that the Mustangs were now in on me in yet another head on pass. I fired a burst at one of the Mustangs which stopped his engine. His buddy managed some hits on my starboard wing. I checked my instruments quickly to verify my engine were still running properly and continued to press on to the C-47. As I came within a good firing position on the C-47 I hammered him with a hail of 30mm, 20mm and 13mm rounds blowing off his number one engine both of his horizontal stabilizers and his port wing which sent him smashing into a hangar on the airfield. As I watched him falling I could hear my tail gunner hammering away at the Mustang rapidly approaching from my rear. I could see him approaching me from high on my starboard side so I decided to turn left to put him in a better position for my gunner to engage him at. The Mustang driver dove down and was taking hits from my gunner as he started firing. His engine started smoking and he flew directly into the ground aft of my plane. He managed to get some good hits on my port wing and stopped my number one engine. My number two engine was smoking and sputtering so I trimmed up the aircraft as best I could and turned to try to make an emergency landing at the airbase we were defending. As I approached the runway two P-38’s were attacking AA targets on the opposite side of the airfield but luckily they were being harassed by friendly FW-190A-8’s and left me alone. My hydraulics were shot out so I was frantically trying to get the landing gear down in emergency when I got hit by fire from an unseen Tempest. That killed my remaining engine and I sort of dropped out of the air at the end of the runway breaking my main landing gear off and sliding to a stop right beside the approach end of the runway. I yelled at my gunner to get out I turned and looked after I got no response. Unfortunately he was killed by 20mm fire from the Tempest that had just made a pass on us. Damn! I hop out of my demolished aircraft and start running to the tree line as I see the Tempest again. He is chasing one of the FW-190’s and ignoring me and my burning hulk of an aircraft. Hopefully I can make it back to my base. The Allied armies are driving relentlessly on and must be stopped.