Scalp and Brimstone
Lurking among the gleaming metal birds and general aviation paraphernalia at the Dubai Air Show were plenty of unpleasantly-named Weapons of Needless People Slaughtering. While aviation obviously involves the military sector, it is a pity that hardware offering various levels of "lethality" can't be confined to defence and military expos.
TV Terry is over from the UK on a filming commission. A veteran of aviation shows, he watches unimpressed as a gold-robed Saudi inspects a private double decker jumbo, his retinue standing at the ready with camel bags full of riyahls.
"Face it, for that bloke to drop half a billion clams on that plane is the equivalent to you buying a schwarma. And that's including the solid gold taps and 18-hole golf course he'll have had it fitted out with."
Graceful little private jets dot the runway around the jumbo: it dwarfs them like an elephant surrounded by ants.
"I expect his servants will ride those," Terry remarks.
TV Terry is over from the UK on a filming commission. A veteran of aviation shows, he watches unimpressed as a gold-robed Saudi inspects a private double decker jumbo, his retinue standing at the ready with camel bags full of riyahls.
"Face it, for that bloke to drop half a billion clams on that plane is the equivalent to you buying a schwarma. And that's including the solid gold taps and 18-hole golf course he'll have had it fitted out with."
Graceful little private jets dot the runway around the jumbo: it dwarfs them like an elephant surrounded by ants.
"I expect his servants will ride those," Terry remarks.
17 Comments:
haha, i remember when they had bird eye views a few years back from an overhead helicopter.
you just saw this HUGE crowd around sheikh mo, wherever he went, there was this like 3000 person deep crowd following
Maybe Pakistans president will pop in as well to pick up some F-16's since the UN finally sent the check for US$ 5.3 intended to help the needy.
Bah at all the hippy left wingers, the airshow rocked, the Saab Grippens and the MiG-29SMT were menacing.
The SAAB Gripen is definately the best multirole fighter available that fits perfectly when political, financial and technical matters account.
agree anon 11:15.. the only problem being if youre a middle eastern country, how do you get access to AMRAAMs or any mid range missiles to arm those SAAB grippens, youll be stuck with AIM-9s, 7s, Magic Matras the only real fault I see with it was that it did not have a proper arnaments and independent electronic warfare package, the Swedes should have taken that into account, and the fact that the americans wont quickly give up AMRAAMs if it doesnt come in a package with something. I would have talked to the russians to get an upgrade on the R77 and then market it in a combined package.
At 35 million a pop, with the aerodynamics and electronics to match, it could have been pretty good.
SD is right (and provides an original thought--again!!).
Military hardware should be confined to Defence shows.
This ever-lovin world has reached a critical point where, if we are to progress any further, all weapons of warfare must become increasingly irrelevant white elephants.
All the exhibitions and ...itex (es) can be encompassed in one sweeping word - 'HYPE'
Very few , I would say barely 5-10% of the delegates, visitors and hangers on know exactly why they are present at any of these 'shows'.
And for the residents for whom the daily grind itself is an ordeal, this just seems to have a further dampening effect on their collective psyches as it leads to among other things exhorbitant prices and unimaginable traffic .
but fear not, because there is a light at the end of the tunnel...
or is there?
Emirati - I knew this would be a topic for you! Your comment is absolute greek to me ;)
The Gripen is armed with the Swedish version called JB-99 AMRAAM.
What happens to these if middle east orders the aircraft is political.
wow - you boys really know your (toys)weapons!
I DON'T know the toys as well as some of those here. However I do wonder what most Gulf state defence aircraft orders/choices are based on.
Actual perceived threat neutralisation or Western salesmanship?
Anon 16:38
I certainly disagree and do not think that the swedes make medium range air to air missiles. What the RB-99 is, is simply a rename of the AIM-120, new packaging, thats about it. US End Lease Contracts on the weapons state they cannot be sold to a third country, hence no one will be getting the Gripen Along with a decent middle range air to air missile in one package.
And now what does that leave us with ? Whatever the Eurofags decide to make the standard MRAAM for their Eurofighter. 5 Bucks says its the ARMAAM. Other than that we are left with the Mica, which I resent greatly because its a sissified french version of the AIM-120. The French will sell their own mothers if you have enough cash, and in this case you would be able to buy Micas off of them, which then leads you to a question of can they be integrated on the Grippen ?
SDs Choice of Title is pretty intriguing....
Scalp ?
http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/missile/row/casom.htm
Brimstone ?
http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/missile/row/brimstone.htm
Emirati - most probably - they were names I saw on a couple of missile type things at the show.
I actually find it rather inappropriate to use names like this for military hardware. It would be more tasteful to have plain, numerical names like: "HLM427" (which could stand for "hard lethality missile" or something but at least it wouldn't be kind of woop-wooping about killing people).
And now proof, if proof was ever needed, that emirati is a racist...nice one
"Whatever the Eurofags decide to make the standard MRAAM for their Eurofighter"
yes, the eurofags, the people in charge of the european defence comission, hell all of the EU's beauraucracy that have stalled the eurofighter for so long.
but anon i dont need to be explaining this to you, youre a over pc left winger.
now somersault into your rear end and disappear.
can anyone here help me in finding for the statistical data of the Brimstone missile? I badly need it for my Computer Science subject...
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