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F-ZeroOne

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  1. F-ZeroOne
    It seems that the UK military is keeping up the habit of being one of the nerdier on the planet; gear installed or in use by the UK armed forces has included TARDIS ("Five rounds, rapid!"), Storm Shadow (because everything is better with ninjas!) and Skynet (which I'm sure is not going to backfire on us in any way at all). I've just found out that during a round of testing involving the F-35, it was used in signature trials against a suite of UK-specific sensors called... Robocop (!).
  2. F-ZeroOne
    Theres been a recent defence review in the UK and the short version is that we'll be acquiring nine P-8s (I was sort of hoping for the Japanese P-1, just for varietys sake, but theres an urgent need as Red October has been getting frisky off the coast and we've had to borrow someone elses plane to go listening for an outbreak of Russian choral singing) and up to 139 F-35s (much more than expected), with the first 24 due by 2023. Its unclear yet whether or not they will all be Bs (for the new carriers) or a mix of Bs and As. I guess no-one told the RAF that the F-35 can't dogfight, is slow, doesn't carry enough missiles, isn't stealthy enough, can be detected on I.R, can't fly for more than five minutes etc etc etc...
  3. F-ZeroOne
    I liked the episode generally (sort of agree about Masie Williams) though to me it felt less SF and more like something Neil Gaiman would write. And, yes, angry Doctor is ANGRY.
  4. F-ZeroOne
    You could try the "Gundam: The Origin" manga series; its an updated retelling of the first Gundam by one of the original animators and the art is simply gorgeous, its almost like reading a movie at times (if that makes sense, the art just flows that well). Gundam 0080 and 0083 (Stardust Memory) were among the first Gundam I saw and though it helps to know a little of the history of the "Universal Century" timeline (Gundam has several different "universes", much like "Star Trek") you can enjoy them without; thats what I did. Just remember the three rules of Gundam Club: Rule One: Everyone dies. Rule Two: No-one comes back. Rule Three: No-one comes back!
  5. F-ZeroOne
    Moffats basically not even trying to hide the fanservice now, is he? There has been some comment that the Doctors response only works if , which I think is a fair point; Capaldis performance is so good in that scene that you don't really consider that at the time.
  6. F-ZeroOne
    Thats good to know, thanks!
  7. F-ZeroOne
    It was the frequent references to tea that give it away, wasn't it, chaps? Hope I didn't spoil anything for anyone, apologies if I did.
  8. F-ZeroOne
    Brilliant episode, this week, somewhat less heavy-handed than last week... and it has, I think, the performance I've been waiting for from Twelve this whole time. Don't get me wrong, I think hes been good all the way through but I think thats going to be one of those moments that defines this particular incarnation of The Doctor.
  9. F-ZeroOne
    Just being a pedant, but English Electric Lightning. I think towards the end of its life it did become the BAE Lightning though.
  10. F-ZeroOne
    Part of the reason for that bombload is that the Lancasters fuselage was pretty much all bomb bay, which was why it could carry 12,000lb and 22,000lb bombs later in the war. The B-17, I understand, had a structural member going across and through the fuselage, which restricted the size of its bomb bay. Plus, y'know, all those .50 calibre guns and stuff... Of course, because of the Lancaster virtually no-one knows the Handley-Page Halifax...
  11. F-ZeroOne
    Er... it'll work because it looks cool?
  12. F-ZeroOne
    Reaction Engines has received funding from the British government and purchase of a stake by BAE for development of its advanced SABRE engine, which could be used to power the proposed "Skylon" space plane.Obviously very early days (anyone else remember HOTOL?), but just maybe the UK will start taking a lead in aerospace technology again... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-34694935
  13. F-ZeroOne
    Oh, yes, he does. I only met him very briefly, at a memorabilia event, but although we only exchanged a few words I got every impression of that. What I do kick myself about is that sat right next to him was The Brigadier himself, Nicolas Courtney but at that time I didn't really know the character that well (I knew of him, I just hadn't seen him on-screen much as my Who experiences really started with the Fifth). He sadly passed away not long afterwards and its only recently, after a UK channel started re-running classic episodes that I've got to know and love the character; I really regret now not taking the opportunity when I had it to meet him.
  14. F-ZeroOne
    I nearly pointed that out myself, but felt that it was so obvious I didn't need to - unlike the script writers this week...
  15. F-ZeroOne
    Opponents facing F-35s may have to worry about encountering Jem'Hadar, according to British F-35 pilot: "In the F-35 I can generate a wormhole in the airspace and lead everyone through it... " http://www.codeonemagazine.com/article.html?item_id=182 (of course, hes actually talking about the sensor capabilities... ).
  16. F-ZeroOne
    Actually, if you're a Cyberman, the Doctor is pretty much a one Time Lord Murder Army of Cyber-Death: I've met Tom Baker and, personally, I think that they didn't go electric enough...!
  17. F-ZeroOne
    Now, you see, thats what young Anakins adventures should have been like.
  18. F-ZeroOne
    I believe the in-show excuse was that the rotor-system was disconnected prior to supersonic flight (despite what the footage shows, I guess they weren't paying the pilots that much to try it... ). Yes, I know, but at least they tried...
  19. F-ZeroOne
    Thunder, Thunder, Thunder, Thunder, Thunderca - I mean, Thunderbolt is loose!
  20. F-ZeroOne
    And the winner of the LRSB selection is... Northrop-Grumman! http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/2015/10/27/northrop-grumman-wins-usaf-bomber-contract/74661394/ No details of the design yet, but its speculated to be based on the B-2... unless of course, NGs real plan is to secretly revive the YF-23 via the backdoor...
  21. F-ZeroOne
    Modern attack helicopters are typically designed to be armoured against 12.7mm rounds and "tolerant" of 23mm rounds (or the equivalent), but there really is no such thing as proof. Airwolf took and survived hits which in reality should have obliterated it. 30mm is a big ol' round and to put that into perspective, a couple of 30mm hits was considered by the Luftwaffe to be enough to down a B-17 bomber, arguably one of the strongest airframes ever built. I've seen some concept designs for jet/helicopter hybrids - one of which actually slightly resembles the "Switchblade" from "M.A.S.K"! - but I don't know if any of them are supposed to be supersonic. Edit: Oh, while I think of it, whilst Airwolf did indeed carry "guided" missiles, its arsenal included "Copperhead" rounds, which was actually a laser-guided artillery round... One thing that they did get sort of accurate was the use of "Sunburst" flares to decoy missiles, though real flares probably aren't the 100% effective they were in the show!
  22. F-ZeroOne
    Some TIE fighters did get shields, according to stuff that is currently being swept away into a broom cupboard somewhere, but I think the real answer is "not well". I vaguely recall it being mentioned here and there that TIE fighters are a bit twitchy in atmosphere (and at least one book mentions - pre-"Phantom Menace" - that shields don't work well in atmospheres, either, so maybe everything is twitchy in an atmosphere. Possibly also explains why the vaguely aerodynamic snowspeeders have what appear to be flaps or airbrakes at any rate... ).
  23. F-ZeroOne
    Of course, in another galaxy far, far away, I hear they are still using F-16s, F-15s, F-5s, MiG-21s, B-52s...
  24. F-ZeroOne
    Lockheed-Martin have flown the F-16V, which I understand is for Taiwan (and also, obviously, for all the current F-16 users looking to upgrade at some point, and y'know, possibly just in case the entire internet turns out to be right about one of Lockheed-Martins other little aircraft projects... ). It has an AESA radar and electronics upgrades.
  25. F-ZeroOne
    Hah, hes even got different coloured shirts! I like this one more than the others they've done - the sculpts were pretty good but the faces seemed off somehow. This one is much better.
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