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Kfir mishap averted
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tamilcanuck
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 3 Jan 2007 03:54:02 GMT Report for Abuse
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Hmm adding up all the sea tiger bases and the sea tiger craft destroyed by the rent a pilot outfit it looks like tigers have been hit 3 times over!
good luck. we need dumb ducks who believe anything and everything!! enjoy the show as the economy which is on life support now is slowly but surely put in a coma! |
Dinuk
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 3 Jan 2007 04:18:26 GMT Report for Abuse
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| As i herd.. Susai the Sea Pirate too was in the camp when the bombs hits.. wonder he still alive! :) as you can see there were only couple of small kids pics on the Trumpet net.. they were careful enough not to publish any photos of the Village so far.. :) we all know tht mannar bishop was heart broken when Tigers getting hit by SLDF.. |
Su33
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 3 Jan 2007 13:51:34 GMT Report for Abuse
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Happy new year to all!
First of all I have no idea how to quote like many of you do in this forum (not that IT savvy), so here goes my reply to the ones who want the pucara back.
To my information it cannot be brought back because it lacks spares. When SLAF bought these first in 1985 (I think the total was 4)Argentina had already called it a day in manufacturing pucaras. But still we were operating those. Around 1996-1997 when the pucaras began giving trouble there was no way of mending them without spares etc. Due to this fact the only 2 pucaras we had were grounded for over a year (eventually they gave up plus Kfirs turned up). 1 crashed due to failures (I remember one was over hingurakgoda). And I recall one being shot down as well in 1995 by a SAM 7 as confirmed by Mr. Mig29.
So - even if SLAF manages to revive them back to service it is a bad bad idea.
Regarding Mr. Mig29, I reckon he's giving a demo on how to use the latest HISAR SLAF got :-) |
Dinuk
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3 Jan 2007 14:37:47 GMT Report for Abuse
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SU33;
Hey Wish you a Happy new Year!!.. and regarding adding quotes.. :) just open with Square brackets '[' and close the brackets.. thats it :))
Edited By - Dinuk - 3 Jan 2007 14:38:31 GMT |
snake2
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 3 Jan 2007 16:20:16 GMT Report for Abuse
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Su33
Cheers on the info on the Pucaras
In your opinion,is the situation the same for the Siai Marchettis also??? Or are they simply training aircraft and not adaptable for a ground fighting role??
A little addition to this post:
Seems that the Argentine forces are still using the Pucara and have Recently embarked on an upgrade program for the aircraft:
link
http://www.scramble.nl/ar.htm
This is a website for the Argentine Airarms in General but there is a section with a photo and detail somewhere down the pages
But anyways this is for the Argentinian airforce and might not be for foreign operators.
Edited By - snake2 - 3 Jan 2007 17:03:00 GMT |
CannonFodder
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9 Jan 2007 18:40:00 GMT Report for Abuse
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| Just bibnging the thread up, in hope of that Mig29 will be back here by 10th as he promised. |
Eksath
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9 Jan 2007 20:13:28 GMT Report for Abuse
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Maybe SLAF should follow Biggles' and SenaM's advice and think about bringing the Pucaras back into service.
As pointed out, the Pucura is too old and slow for COIN ops.
The SLAF received 4 as a stop gap measure in the '90s.
1 frame was shot down on a low level attack over Jaffna. Pilot was KIA
1 frame was lost over central/northern SL when a locally built bomb prematurely detonated in flight or caught fire at under wing hardpoint. It may have been a faulty fuse. The pilot ejected and was recovered alive.
1 frame was sent to the Aircraft Preservation Unit at Ratmalana AKA the SLAF museum (2001). It was stripped of all valuable components to keep the other one flying.
The final frame will probably join the first one at museum (if it already has not) or will end up as a gate guard somewhere outside a SLAF airbase.
These aircrafts did miserably against the British (Falklands) and is antique by modern firepower standards. The rate of fire and armaments of most ground forces will decimate an attack from these slow aircraft hence the SLAF did the right thing in quickly retiring them. This aircraft is a slow FAC type aircraft which is analogous to the old USAF Bronco (which was retired after Desert Storm)
The SLAF is best served by limiting the number of types it operates. It should streamline parts,acquisition ,maintenance and training by limiting to few types as possible. Also, SLAF needs numbers. Buying 1,2,3,4s is not enough due to standard attrition and war. Accidents and bad things do happen. Things that go up must come down..sometimes in separate pieces. The SLAFs flying hours has gone through the roof in a perpetual combat situation of 20 + years hence the rate of attrition of the limited resources has been high.
Nanchang trainers for primary training
K-7s for advanced jet conversion
Mig-27s for weapons delivery
An-32s for transport.
MI-24s for gunship
Mil-17s helicopter troop/cargo transport. Firebase resupply.
Bell 412s for VIP transport
An32s can be adapted for ECM etc
PERIOD
SLAF has an eclectic mix of aircrafts( Chinese,Russian,UK,American,Israeli) that engineering has been doing wonders (sri lankan ingenuity) to keep flying but perhaps they are better served by retiring them too.
SLAF and Sri lanka does not need an air superiority fighter as SL is not going to ever fight India ...and live. Besides the love affair is going quite well between the two..practically married.
A small potent and well equipped air force is worth quite a bit to a small nation state like SL. The political will has to support the force. The skills and intelligence does exist on the ground. They have done some heroic work which the local media (due to their lack of knowledge of the subject) has totally missed for the most part. The only thing that they know to report is when a plane is lost. |
snake2
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9 Jan 2007 20:54:26 GMT Report for Abuse
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Eksath,
Thank you very much for the really informative post.
The reason I was also still interested about the capabilities of the Pucara is that the Argentine airforce still seems to be flying it.
As shown in this website:
http://www.scramble.nl/ar.htm
apparently an upgrade is also to be done to it with the help of LMAAS which seems to be an Argentine collaboration with Lockheed Martin
But like you said, with already virtually non-existant airframes and the capability for getting aircraft suited much better for the attack role, does not seem to be reason to resurrect it.
Unless of course to fly at Airforce anniversary celebrations LOL. |
Dinuk
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10 Jan 2007 06:59:06 GMT Report for Abuse
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Eksath:
Thanks for the detailed post :)). so gentleman's-Ladies.. we have a question ahead of us!!.. For Close Combat support, what should be the suitable craft that we can use??
Cheers!
-Asela- |
SenaM
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10 Jan 2007 07:45:02 GMT Report for Abuse
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Suggestion to 'revive' the PUCARAs was made in the belief, there were at least two (02) airframes (possibly 3), which could be 'worked-on', and brought back to 'flying' condition. If only one (01) airframe is available at this time .. then efforts to 'revive' the PUCARA - for service in Sri Lanka - may not be fruit-ful.
However, I am not entirely in agreement with the writer who said that the Pucara was found in-effective as a 'Close Air Support' (CAS) aircraft, by the SLAF . The standard machine (as we have in the SLAF) comes with 2 x 20mm Hispano Cannon, 6 x FN machine guns (admittedly .303 calbre, but still effective against enemy troops in the 'open'), and a bomb-load up to 3,000lb. (A later version has the standard cannon fit replaced by 2 x 30mm cannon).
It is my belief the PUCARAs were quite 'potent' against the LTTE; they were vulnerable, largely because they were not equipped with a 'self-protection' suite against 'shoulder-fired' missiles. (Pucara can surely be compared with the Mi-24 - attack h'copter; Mi-24s were also vulnerable at one time; however, they are now equipped with 'self-protection' suites). |
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