One of Britain’s last big fighter radar programmes – the Tornado ADV’s AI.24 Foxhunter – suffered similarly ‘bad press’. Technical problems, cost inflation and hold-ups plagued the early Foxhunter, delaying service entry for so long that early F2s were delivered with ballast in their noses. This actually consisted of metal weights, but urban legend had it that the aircraft had concrete ballast, or ‘Blue Circle’, fitted. (Blue Circle is a well-known cement brand, while UK radar equipment had always used colour-related ‘rainbow’ code names, such as Green Satin or Blue Shadow, leading to the joke.)
But while Foxhunter’s trials and tribulations became well known, subsequent programme progress was much less well publicised and many are unaware of how well regarded the AI.24 radar eventually became. The Foxhunter, was, in any case, something of an aberration. The Blue Vixen (ARI 50019) radar for the second-generation BAe Sea Harrier was regarded by many as being a better fighter radar than the contemporary AN/APG-73 used by later F/A-18 Hornets. Famously, when it was first used on operations in Bosnia, there were claims that it had picked up contacts that could not be detected by AWACS.One of Britain’s last big fighter radar programmes – the Tornado ADV’s AI.24 Foxhunter – suffered similarly ‘bad press’. Technical problems, cost inflation and hold-ups plagued the early Foxhunter, delaying service entry for so long that early F2s were delivered with ballast in their noses. This actually consisted of metal weights, but urban legend had it that the aircraft had concrete ballast, or ‘Blue Circle’, fitted. (Blue Circle is a well-known cement brand, while UK radar equipment had always used colour-related ‘rainbow’ code names, such as Green Satin or Blue Shadow, leading to the joke.)
But while Foxhunter’s trials and tribulations became well known, subsequent programme progress was much less well publicised and many are unaware of how well regarded the AI.24 radar eventually became. The Foxhunter, was, in any case, something of an aberration. The Blue Vixen (ARI 50019) radar for the second-generation BAe Sea Harrier was regarded by many as being a better fighter radar than the contemporary AN/APG-73 used by later F/A-18 Hornets. Famously, when it was first used on operations in Bosnia, there were claims that it had picked up contacts that could not be detected by AWACS.
@نمر هل نستطيع ان نقول انه عندما يتعلق الامر بأسرائيل فأن خيرانا الاول هو المنظومات الأوربيه خصوصا عندما يتعلق الامر بالمنظومات الالكترونية
