Off Topic Other Stuff (anything you want to share)

They've been doing all of this game playing for donkeys years. I was on a Survey Ship in 1971 where we were mapping the bottom of the Ocean merrily minding our own business one Sunday morning when a pipe came over the tanoy system for the Ship's Photographer to report to the Bridge. Strange everyone thought and wondered what was happening. Half the troops went on the upper deck to see what was about due mainly to being bored. When you are doing surveying and just running up and down the same bit of Ocean for weeks even a seagull with a limp is exciting. Anyway we were sailing in the middle of a Russian Fleet of ships and submarines. About 20 odd of them to be precise. We had right of way of all ships due to the Survey Pennant we were flying at the time and all things should by rule of the sea move out of our way. Not a chance they were ever going to of course. They played around for about an hour and then suddenly the subs dived and disappeared and the surface ships put down their accelerator and steamed off into the distance. This was off Scotland. One newspaper reported the sightings saying as a headline "British warship shadows Russian Fleet". The British Warship had in it's armoury one Bren gun and a number of rifles and pistols. We did around 14 knots top speed with the wind behind us and down hill. Normal speed was around 10 knots so as the bolts didn't shake out. I think shadowed was a slight exaggeration. Our entire involvement in the thing was to take a whole load of photos and I had a huge report of the sightings to type for the MOD.

 

On the other hand the Type 45 carries the following:

• Anti-air missiles:
  • Sea Viper air defence system, with a 48-cell Sylver A50 VLS, for mix of up to 48:
  • Aster 15 missiles (range 1.7–30 km)
  • Aster 30 missiles (range 3–120 km)
• Anti-ship missiles:
  • 2 × quad Harpoon launchers[N 2]
• Guns:
  • 1 × BAE 4.5 inch Mk 8 naval gun
  • 2 × Oerlikon 30 mm guns
  • 2 × Phalanx CIWS
  • 2 × Miniguns
  • 6 × General purpose machine guns

I believe it was accompanied by the Dutch frigate HNLMS Evertsen

• • 1 × Oto Melara 127 mm/54 dual-purpose gun
  • 2-4 × Browning M2 12.7mm machine guns
  • 4-6 × FN MAG 7.62mm machine guns
  • 1-2 × Goalkeeper CIWS
• Missiles:
  • 40-cell Mk.41 vertical launch system
    • 32 × SM-2 IIIA surface-to-air missiles
    • 32 × Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (quadpacked)
  • 8 × Harpoon anti-ship missiles
  • 2 × twin MK32 Mod 9 torpedo launchers with Raytheon MK46 Mod 5 torpedoes

So a Russian coastguard vessel doesn't really cut it.

However, this is dangerous stuff. It only takes Defender to light up one of the Russian aircraft up with its radar and all hell breaks loose.

https://www.my5.tv/warship-life-at-sea/season-1/episode-2

 

Nope it aint gonna happen notdistant. This is a game played out by both sides not just Russia and as said they have been doing it for years and years. If the Russians had meant it seriously they would have sent an awful lot more than a couple of coastguard ships. No matter how they are armed these days ships are still very vulnerable and if a serious attack took place they would likely be lost. It's all a load of show. People should remember the Falklands conflict and how easily the Argentinian Airforce took out a couple of our ships and they were hardly a huge military force to be reckoned with. The Russians are a slightly different ball game to them. Neither wants a real fight.

 

I know it's posturing but posturing when you have those sorts of weapons on both sides is dangerous. Clearly the Russians are at fault: they engineered the invasion of Crimea and now claim its territorial waters, a claim which isn't recognised by the United Nations.

But things can so easily go wrong. In that documentary I linked, HMS Duncan did exactly what Defender has now done and similarly it was buzzed by Russian jets. I don't whether this is true, but they were shown warning the Russians not to fly close to the ship because its radar is so powerful, capable as it is of shooting down objects in low Earth orbit, that it can fry the electronics by passing aircraft. If true, you could see a Russian jet crashing into the sea while in a low high speed pass and things kicking off from there.

 

Have you seen the GIANT new Russian submarine going on sea trials....(pictured in the Telegraph today).....will act as a mother ship for smaller submarines....they could be used in trans-atlantic cable cutting etc......and in the Arctic.

 

Those cables are vital to our economies so that's a hot topic.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/...ct-the-uks-critical-underwater-infrastructure

https://www.unmannedsystemstechnology.com/2020/03/extra-large-uuv-to-be-developed-for-uk-royal-navy/

and one built in Plymouth potentially to be carried by frigates.

https://www.navylookout.com/manta-the-royal-navy-gets-its-first-extra-large-autonomous-submarine/

Since I've come back to live in Plymouth I've taken an amateur interest in naval matters.... via Twitter.

 

Our Subs have been going under the Ice for years so I don't see what advantage a super Sub would have to what already happens. The Russians and a whole host of others have a capability to disrupt/cut communications under the sea and again have had for years. Like it or not we spend far too much on the arms race in this Country for it's size. We are no longer a World beater in countries to fear and respect. If we didn't belong to NATO and therefore making ourselves bigger by the union then we would be nothing at all. It's a bit like the yappie dog making itself out or believing it's really an Alsatian. We have an extremely professional Navy with little bite to go with it.

 

I think it's the ability to go very very deep to get at the cables.... and the other stuff that's down there to listen for submarines.

 

I listened to PMQs today on the radio. Why do they bother with the farce of it all anymore. Stammer asked Boris 5 times about the stepping down of Hancock. The questions were quite simple along the lines of why did he not sack the Health Minister when the news broke of his office affair and the picture printed. He simply said the same thing every time. That is the story broke on Friday and by Saturday there was a new Health Minister. He would not say he sacked him or didn't sack him. Instead he followed up with figures about vaccines which had nothing to do with the question asked. The question I would ask and this of all MPs of whatever party, is why are you paid public servants not made to answer the question you are asked rather than ignore it and answer something you weren't asked. What is the point of allowing questions at all if they are allowed to basically avoid it which is almost the same as lying.

 

Hancock wrote a resignation letter so he resigned. The rest is between employer and employee and so confidential.

Good news today in that Nissan has decided to build a plant to make batteries for the electric cars they will produce in the UK.

The situation is that UK cars sold in Europe will attract crippling tariffs unless 60% by value of their constituent parts are made in the UK. Electric cars can't meet that test unless the batteries are made here, which is a huge Brexit risk.

The bad news is that it sounds as though the plant will only be big enough to supply Nissan and that the UK Government ( ie you and me) have had to fund perhaps a quarter of the £1b bill. That leaves the remaining UK car industry, which has already lost Honda, still at risk. A decision by Vauxhall aka Opel is pending.

 

I am the employer. All MPs work for the voters of the Country. That is you and me.

 

Not legally you're not............

 

Well it feckin well should be. They get paid by the tax payer and that's me. They spend my money and they get given a job by people like me so I cannot see the problem.

 

Of all the problems this country faces: Covid, poverty, crime, lack of housing, climate change, Brexit, racism, wokery, China and Russia, terrorism, foreign and domestic to list but some, I couldn't give a toss about two consulting adults having a snog in an office.

 

Who turned the camera around in the office.....it was supposed to be set so that it could survey the window and balcony area originally so we're told.......a very tall person or someone suspiciously walking around with a ladder.....now that must be on camera somewhere.

 

A camera inside looking out? Bizarre and if I use the word "incredible", it is in the proper sense.

 

I see that Emma Raducanu the 18yr old Tennis wizz kid attends the same school that Dina Asher-Smith used to go to....Newstead Wood Girls School here in Orpington....less than a mile from here......must be something in the water....a really high flying academic school.

 

The Whiz kid whizzed too soon it seems. Retired hurt when trailing. Oh well never mind. You might guess I'm not really a tennis fan.

 

Argyle legend Paul Mariner has died aged 68.

There is no further information at present.

I may have said this before, but I remember my dad coming home from watching Argyle in a pre season game at St Austell. He said categorically that Argyle had a youngster who would go on to play for England. Mariner of course, recently signed from non league Chorley.

Mariner and Rafferty. Best strike pairing we ever had.

 

A real shock this news.....was he ill or was it sudden ?

Mariner and Rafferty as notDistant has said...best striking pair.....didn't Rafferty outscore Mariner one season.