Article

2015-05-28 Government

UK Based F-15Es Flew A Secret Long-Range Mission Over Africa On Monday

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Posted by Besoeker 2015-05-28 00:00|| || Front Page|| [11130 views ] Top

#1 Sounds like AFRICOM has some SpecOps who found a very lucrative target.

Posted by OldSpook 2015-05-28 00:03|| 2015-05-28 00:03|| Front Page Top

#2 I love the smell of napalm in the morning.

Posted by anymouse 2015-05-28 01:44|| 2015-05-28 01:44|| Front Page Top

Posted by 2015-05-28 04:17|| 2015-05-28 04:17|| Front Page Top

#4 Some gratuitous B-2 refueling eye candy.

Posted by Besoeker 2015-05-28 04:49|| 2015-05-28 04:49|| Front Page Top

#5 Just a Memorial Day flyby.
Move along, nothing to see here...

Posted by ed in texas 2015-05-28 05:28|| 2015-05-28 05:28|| Front Page Top

#6 Why fly from the UK? Surely closer bases?

Posted by Bright Pebbles 2015-05-28 07:00|| 2015-05-28 07:00|| Front Page Top

#7 Spotters. Today with internet et al, just Charlie sitting at a window can punch a key and everyone who is interested knows that armed birds are in the air. Some places are rather uncomfortably close to a 'light a match' moment which makes it probably a choice to go with someplace that is unlikely to provoke or alert a player along the sidelines to a particular game play.

Posted by Procopius2k 2015-05-28 07:49|| 2015-05-28 07:49|| Front Page Top

#8 "a pair" says the headline, "four" say the spotters.
The Eagle carries its ordnance externally, which means dragging it through the air, thus reducing its mpg. Ditto external fuel tanks. The latter can be refueled through the fueling system from tankers. But they also reduce manuverability, full or empty. So you drop them when the stuff gets serious. Five tankers is a hell of a lot of gas, and there are or should be tankers available elsewhere, nearer the target(s). Maybe from Italy if they're going over the Med. Are there not, any longer? Or was the target someplace else entirely without any tankers on the way? Or did they use more? Who told anybody these things were heading over the southern Med?

Posted by Richard Aubrey 2015-05-28 08:01|| 2015-05-28 08:01|| Front Page Top

#9 Time for a massive floating concrete airbase.

Posted by Bright Pebbles 2015-05-28 09:10|| 2015-05-28 09:10|| Front Page Top

#10 We have one its called, England

Posted by Ebbatle Slinesing1040 2015-05-28 15:31|| 2015-05-28 15:31|| Front Page Top

#11 It's harder to hide taking off from Lakenheath, and a lot lot further to fly.

Posted by Bright Pebbles 2015-05-28 16:13|| 2015-05-28 16:13|| Front Page Top

#12 At Ramstein Air Base there were oftentimes groups of civilian observers along the road at the end of the runway taking fotos, tail numbers, types and descriptions. Someone told me the Germans had actual clubs devoted to such activities.

One must wonder if they have distinctive club beer steins, badges, gorgets and the like ?

Posted by Besoeker 2015-05-28 16:30|| 2015-05-28 16:30|| Front Page Top

#13 A critical question encumbers
Kraut planespotters' orderly slumbers:
Are government agents
In windowless basements
Collecting our party card numbers?

Posted by Zenobia Floger6220 2015-05-28 17:41|| 2015-05-28 17:41|| Front Page Top

#14 #12 At Ramstein Air Base there were oftentimes groups of civilian observers along the road at the end of the runway taking fotos, tail numbers, types and descriptions. Someone told me the Germans had actual clubs devoted to such activities. One must wonder if they have distinctive club beer steins, badges, gorgets and the like?

Yes. Some of the clubs have thousands of members, identification cards, and more. They have a network to alert people to unique sightings. They're also active (in fact, even larger) in England. There would be three hundred people at the end of the runway AT Mildenhall every time an SR-71 took off on a practice sortie.

Posted by Old Patriot 2015-05-28 17:46|| 2015-05-28 17:46|| Front Page Top

#15 Why not Diego Garcia?

Posted by Rob Crawford 2015-05-28 19:10|| 2015-05-28 19:10|| Front Page Top

#16 @#15: Indeed.

Posted by Blossom Unains5562 2015-05-28 20:03|| 2015-05-28 20:03|| Front Page Top

#17 Message sent. Consider that. Plus taking off heavy = offloading fuel, grab gas at altitude.

Posted by OldSpook 2015-05-28 22:50|| 2015-05-28 22:50|| Front Page Top

#18 Besides England, seems Vlad's Boyz = Russia have noticed the presence of US air assets in IRELAND.

I suspect a test of Global Strike or Global Prompt Strike - not all LR missions per same involve only heavy or strategic bomber US aircraft e.g. B-52's, B-1's, andor B-2's, or Drones.

* FYI DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > US PACOM'S PACIFIC MANDATE: [Rapid] DEPLOYMENT, SEABASING [MOABS/MOBS], FACILITATION.

As said or inferred times before, given advances in various MilTechs the proverbial Clock is ticking as to how long the US = USDOD will need ANY MILBASES OUTSIDE OF CONUS PROPER.

In future time as Pearl Harbor, ETC. becomes obsolete as a CENTCOM as it most assuredly will, what will save HAWAII or USDOD, HAWAII will be its status as a de facto US State.

Posted by JosephMendiola 2015-05-28 23:43|| 2015-05-28 23:43|| Front Page Top

#19 A US State whom by definition will still have powerful leverage via a mandated Constitutional say in Any Each + All US Govt Appropriations.

OWG OR NO OWG, "GREAT GAME" OR NO "GREAT GAME".

Posted by JosephMendiola 2015-05-28 23:47|| 2015-05-28 23:47|| Front Page Top

23:50 JosephMendiola
23:47 JosephMendiola
23:43 JosephMendiola
23:08 Rambler in Virginia
22:55 OldSpook
22:53 OldSpook
22:53 OldSpook
22:50 OldSpook
22:30 JosephMendiola
20:34 Large B. Hayes3020
20:03 Blossom Unains5562
20:02 swksvolFF
19:19 CrazyFool
19:15 Rob Crawford
19:10 Rob Crawford
19:08 phil_b
19:01 Pappy
18:39 swksvolFF
18:32 Chantry
17:46 Old Patriot
17:41 Zenobia Floger6220
17:13 Ebbang Uluque6305
17:11 Ebbang Uluque6305
17:03 trailing wife