[R Mark Davies]

Hi Gents,

I agree that the RAF has a long history of Close Air Support - there was no-one in WW2 better at it - but that was largely due to the expertise and integration of the RAF's 'Tentacle' Air Liaison Officers, who were attached to each combat brigade. The combination of that with the outstanding Typhoon aircraft and experienced crews, made a formidable team. The USAF had just a capable aircraft in the Thunderbolt, but didn't have that same expertise on the ground.

The post-war NATO (or more specifically US/UK) Forward Air Control doctrine is derived directly from the RAF experience in WW2 - US FACs do things exactly the same as UK FACs. The RAF's Joint Forward Air Control Training & Standards Unit (JFACTSU) frequently trains USAF exchange personnel and vice versa. So to suggest that their CAS doctrine somehow leads to a higher incidence of Friendly Fire is most definitely false.

I agree that in the Harrier GR Mk7, the RAF (and the USMC, indeed!) has an outstanding CAS aircraft - there just ain't many of 'em (until this war though, the Harrier has had no ATGM - having only just received the Maverick)! However, in the examples used above, no UK or Canadian CAS aircraft were involved in the campaign - the aircraft were all US, because we were unable to provide this support. So, for people to blame the USA for casualties caused by CAS when we were asking the USA to do our job for us is a bit rich!

As to air defence, I agree that the Rapier is an outstanding piece of kit - the Darkfire radar (as well as the Searchwater radar used on the Nimrod & Sea King, as you come to mention it) is second to none. The Rapier is actually fitted with a HEAT warhead and is one of very few missiles designed to actually penetrate an aircraft, instead of peppering it with sharapnel (though it can do that as well).

However, the Rapier is a point-defence weapon (not as short-range as the Starstreak, but still short-range). It is not theatre defence. The RAF has not had a long-range theatre defence SAM since the Bloodhound - and the 'hound was VERY difficult to move! So again, when we go to war, the USA has to provide us with a capability that we simply do not have - if we did have it, I can assure you that we would have just as much likelihood of shooting our own side down as thy do! Indeed, as our Fighter Control and air defence doctrine is identical and we integrate so much, it is entirely likely that RAF Fighter Controllers were involved in the tragic shooting down of that GR4.

Cheers,

Mark