Private Group for paid up members of Boards.ie. Join the club.
Russia-Ukraine War (continuing)
Comments
-
-
-
-
-
-
Advertisement
-
-
-
-
-
-
Advertisement
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Advertisement
-
-
It's all a side show anyway…
When the U.S. invades/annexes Greenland, NATO is dead and Putin gets what he wants… a 'version' of NATO without the U.S.
That's how Trump is lining it up… (Give me Greenland, or we're out).
The U.S. need Greenland for security against Russia & China (the same Russia that Trump says won't take any more of Ukraine once they are given a fifth of it, but America still needs protecting from them?) - Denmark said if the U.S. wants to build more military bases in Greenland they would facilitate it.
The U.S. want to mine the rare earth minerals in Greenland: Denmark said, ok, go ahead, we've had a look and we are not interested, but if U.S. Companies want to come and explore/extract, we will facilitate them.
The U.S. must still have Greenland, and will take it by force if necessary: NATO is over and Putin wins
Post edited by AndyBoBandy on13 -
-
-
-
-
There are a few problems with that scenario. The cutter only has hangar space for one helicopter, and that would have been its own embarked helo. Given that the cutter was involved in regular coast guard operations prior to the current situation, they would have had their MH-65 onboard, and taking on an extra MH-6 would have meant tying that down on the flight deck after landing and leaving it exposed. Not a great choice for a helicopter that hasn’t been hardened against corrosion.
Replacing the embarked MH-65 with a special forces helicopter entirely would have caused a different type of headache. Yes, it’s small enough to fit into the cutter’s hangar, but that’s about the only thing speaking for it. Basically, the MH-6 Little Bird has landing skids instead of a landing gear, making it hard, if not impossible to move it around the deck. It also lacks any type of RAST (Recovery Assist Securing & Traversing) compatibility, meaning that any type of landing in less than ideal sea state would be “interesting”, as would be moving the helicopter around the flight deck, even if you had some wheels aboard to attach to the skids. RAST systems allow for helicopters to be automatically hauled down onto a flight deck in rough seas, and to be moved from the deck to the hangar whilst still being tied down. You can see one such system in the photo below, it’s what the grooves in the flight deck and the white box under the helicopter are for. It’s called Beartrap and I took that picture aboard HMCS St. John’s, Canadian frigate that visited Cork back in 2013:
Is it impossible to simply land an MH-6 on a frigate flight deck and tie it down the old fashioned way, with straps and wires attached to tie down spots in the deck? No, not really. But it’s not a long term solution. You don’t want to do that for more than a few hours if at all possible.
That’s why I believe that the Brits were more involved than they’re letting on. RFA Tideforce is a pretty large ship, it’s going to naturally move less in the waves, making it easier to land on and for any helos to be handled on deck. The flight deck is significantly larger, designed to take Chinooks, so it’s overall a more forgiving platform to land on. Moreover, its hangar can accommodate helicopters up to the size of a Merlin, which is more than large enough to get the entire boarding team, their equipment, and any support personnel, onto the ship in a single flight. That makes RFA Tideforce the best possible jumping off point for the type of operation we’ve just seen.
Good luck trying to figure me out. I haven't managed that myself yet!
9 -
-
-
Advertisement
-
