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£10billion spent on refuelling planes which don't work on RAF jets
The Daily Mail ^ | April 2012 | Jamie Mcginnes

Posted on 04/05/2012 6:13:41 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki

£10billion spent on refuelling planes which don't work on RAF jets

A £10billion fleet of refuelling planes for the RAF have been found to suffer leaks when they fill up British jets.

Tests have shown connecting pipes leak on the Voyagers when they try to resupply Tornado jets - although they work fine when used by American fighters.

It is feared the latest glitch to affect the aircraft, also used to evacuate battlefield casualties and transport troops, could delay their entry into service.

The MoD agreed the PFI programme - the biggest ever - with Oxfordshire-based AirTanker for 14 planes.

A militarised version of the Airbus A330-200 passenger plane, the Voyager can transport 400 soldiers.

Twice the size of a Lancaster bomber, with a 60m wingspan and length, the planes can hold 100,000 litres of fuel and are the biggest the RAF has ever had.

In theory, they can refuel jets in mid-air at 125 times the speed of forecourt garage pumps - at 5,000 litres a minute. However, the leak glitch has led to concerns the delivery of the aircraft could be held up.

Nine are due in service as soon as 2014.

Technicians are desperately trying to fix the defect, according to The Sun.

A source told The Sun: 'They tested it with RAF Tornados but the refuelling system doesn’t work in mid-air.

'They also tried it with American planes and it did work — it’s a big problem.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2125439/Fleet-13billion-refuelling-planes-built-RAF-dont-work-British-aircraft--compatible-American-jets.html#ixzz1rAfifzqu

(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; United Kingdom
KEYWORDS: aerospace; airbus; raf; refueller
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To: Yo-Yo

Political BS


21 posted on 04/05/2012 9:10:43 AM PDT by boomop1 (term limits is the only way to save this country.)
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To: Yo-Yo

KC-10 POS, it was the only way they could salvage the DC-10.


22 posted on 04/05/2012 9:12:23 AM PDT by boomop1 (term limits is the only way to save this country.)
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To: sukhoi-30mki
although they work fine when used by American fighters.

Nope.
Not saying it.
Nope.
No way.
Uh uh.

23 posted on 04/05/2012 3:34:09 PM PDT by Publius6961 (A)
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To: sukhoi-30mki
A militarised version of the Airbus A330-200 passenger plane, the Voyager can transport 400 soldiers.

This isn't an American story, but it could be. This is the Airbus A330 MRTT, used by Australia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. The Airbus A330 MRTT is the basis of the EADS/Northrop Grumman KC-45, which SecDef Rumsfeld chose to be the replacement for our KC-135 back in 2006. So not only did Boeing lose a contract and close a factory, but this European plane, with some Northrop Grumman parts, is crap from the get go.

Contact Congress!

24 posted on 04/05/2012 5:28:32 PM PDT by rmlew ("Mosques are our barracks, minarets our bayonets, domes our helmets, the believers our soldiers.")
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To: boomop1
KC-10 POS, it was the only way they could salvage the DC-10.

Yup, such a POS that Boeing's new boom design for the KC-46A is based upon the KC-10 boom, whose technology Boeing bought when they acquired M-D.

25 posted on 04/06/2012 3:03:50 PM PDT by Yo-Yo (Is the /sarc tag really necessary?)
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To: Yo-Yo

Did I say anything about the boom? I didn’t think so.


26 posted on 04/06/2012 3:11:34 PM PDT by boomop1 (term limits is the only way to save this country.)
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To: ken5050

Every Brit over the age of about 12 knows what a Lancaster is. And the DM is a conservative paper, so those who read it know their history.


27 posted on 04/06/2012 4:48:19 PM PDT by the scotsman (I)
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To: the scotsman

I would hope that you’re correct in that assumption..


28 posted on 04/06/2012 5:57:05 PM PDT by ken5050
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To: Oztrich Boy

Is that the same Chobham that developed the explosive armor plating for tanks?


29 posted on 04/06/2012 5:58:24 PM PDT by ken5050
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To: ken5050

Yes.


30 posted on 04/06/2012 6:50:13 PM PDT by the scotsman (I)
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To: ken5050; the scotsman

I think they are referring to Cobham, a British firm specialising in refuelling systems and other defense equipment.

http://www.cobham.com/about-cobham/mission-systems.aspx

Chobham is a class of armour.


31 posted on 04/07/2012 9:22:00 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
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To: the scotsman

Given the kind of nonsense that often fills the pages of the Daily Mail, I pray that British conservatives have other papers to read.


32 posted on 04/07/2012 9:23:31 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
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