Shipbucket

No real backstory behind this one, just the result of some late night chats that went either horribly wrong, or horribly right. Figure 50 seats (so you only need one flight attendant) and the rest is cargo.

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𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐍𝐄𝐓- 𝑻𝒐 𝑪𝒐𝒈𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝑺𝒐𝒍𝒗𝒆

With the EU wanting its members to do more both to protect its borders and to intervene in the 3rd world . Member states came under pressure to improve some of their defence capabilities. The Irish were already contemplating replacing their 2 CN235 MPA with a more capable platform to give more capability for longer periods. With EU funding and direction they were able to purchase 3 New C-295W MPA and had funding for more crews as well. These Crews could be used support deployed aircraft or to integrate with other EU nations crews as the Irish aircraft were built to a common systems fit. Based at Baldonnel and usually with 1 aircraft forward deployed in Malta 282,283 and 284 rotated regularly.



The Irish Air Corps had long identified the need for a Transport aircraft. This aspiration fitted in well with EU defence policy. The original plan put forward by the Dublin government was for 1 C-295W and 2 C-295W MPA. However to add EU capability the EU offered to fund an Additional Transport and and Additional MPA leading to the Irish Air Corps having a Fleet of 2 Transports 280 & 281 in addition to the 3 Maritime patrol Aircraft. The Transports proved very useful to the Irish for training pilots and supporting the Army in Lebanon, forward deployed MPA in Malta, occasional forays on UN and EU missions in Africa as well as various specialised army training. One capability the Irish omitted in their specification that did cause some issues was a lack of Inflight refueling. Although the insistance on a Satellite communications system like the MPA's paid dividends.

If I remember all new build C-295 have winglets as standard and modification kits for older machines.

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Nobody expects the Imperial Inquisition!

Close enough to the likely outcome, right now it's likely to be 2 295 MPA's, though the AC is trying hard for a cargo variant third airframe for general operations. Think them and the Navy Flagship replacement are currently battling for which gets ordered first (given the material state of the 235's delaying isn't much of an option), and I have to agree given our relationship with the Maltese military such a deployment would have made perfect sense during the Med crisis if we had 3 airframes.

When Canada introduced the AVGP vehicles they looked with a little envy at the UK CVRT family and its flexibility. With a few UN operations the Canadian government dcided having some light armour would be a useful capability and Tracked vehicles weren't as softly softly as they would like. However having the flexibility that CVRT would offer they copied the concept and expanded the AVGP family as well as upgrading some systems like night vision and communications.

The series became the:-
Cougar 76mm L23 Gun
Wolverine TOW under armour
Grizzly APC
Caribou Armoured Ambulance
Racoon Armoured Command Post
Husky Armoured Recovery Vehicle
Bobcat 30mm Rarden

Very nice idea, works out nicely.
Good to see so many good AU ideas out there

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Hood's Worklist
English Electric Canberra FD
Interwar RN Capital Ships
Super-Darings
Never-Were British Aircraft

These look great - but how do they differ from the actual 6x6 armored vehicles Canada used
in the 1970's and beyond?

The real vehicles Cougar, Grzzly and Husky are largely as built though add in the L2e1 nigh vision systems on the cougar
the Wolverive,Racoon,Caribou and bobcat are totally fictionsl so you have TUA introduced into canadian service much earlier and the 30mm Rarden which the canadians never used.

A plausible AU MPA for France when ATL-2 will be obsolete by 2030.
The Kawasaki P-1F "Balbuzard" (French for "Osprey") of the flottille 21F.
I would like to thank Little Bird for the superb P-1 he has drawn : I've modified nothing and credits goes to him.

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Je pardonne à tous ceux qui m'ont offensé... mais je garde la liste!


Worklist, FD scale submarines and ships :
- Project 971 "Akula" (80%)
- Project 705 "Alpha" (10%)
- Project 371 (70%)
- Project 1459 (30%)
- Projekt 151 Sassnitz (To be redone)

Very Nice how I like AU plauseable. Could you see P8 in french markings.....think not. Was thinking of this subject and pulled up the Airbus A319/320 as a possible candidate but the P1 looks amazing.
In your AU France would it just be Aeronaval using them or maybe an ELINT version for the Airforce?
Might fit into some other European Nations maritime Patrol replacement like Germany,Greece,Portugal,Spain maybe others like Canada