Drones verses Missiles!

 Ukrainian war a proving Ground?

Kiev does not yet see that the NATO is using the Ukraine to test out their military systems and to prove that missiles are still better than drones!

When Zelensky offered his new drones to the U.S. President Trump was offended, because only America makes the best of everything, but this is another lie that comes from this silly man?

Russia, China and N-Korea, if not India and few others have much better systems than the U.S., as well as armor, guns, small-arms, and aircraft, while shipping is a difficult area and drones continue to have a limited capability, because of size and weight issues!

Donald Trump has been very critical of U.S. naval design, since he has a limited understanding of what stealth is and has to look back to warships with big guns?

But the future of air-defense is to be laser weapons, rather than rockets, while drones will continue to be effective in localized situations, rather than anything with a long range that Ukraine may never get.

But

What China has to offer in civil Aviation?

 MC-21/C919.

These two new types will start to take the market world wide this year, if Boeing cannot get is act together? 

Russia has already grounded many of its Boeing fleet for its own types, such a the TU-204/14 and Sukhoi SU-100/200, while considering these new Chinese types.

China is progressing with firm orders already in place and even Embraer is suffering because of its links with Boeing over poor build quality and other electrical computing failures?

China does not have those issues and it has a good aviation history of safety, as well as well built aircraft and their own computer systems, much of which they share with Russia! Sales may not exceed those of the U.S. but many aircraft meeting the needs of the Asian continent will be met, with India, Iran and others!

Sanctions on Russia?

 Still an open door to fossil fuels and Gas!

It would seem that despite thousands of sanctions being placed on Russia over its right to protect its people in the Ukraine from genocide by Zelensky and his secular cohorts the west has left doors open in the world stock markets to re-open trade, when Biden leaves office?

Russia is making more money than it is loosing selling gas to both India and China and many others new customers in the far-east, since it is much cheaper than any other commodity and has a much lower carbon rate than coal or oil!

But a new U.S. administration may want to still trade with Russia and it is known that Britain despite all its pro-Ukraine pomp is still carrying around the world Russian crude and it prepared to keep doing on the quiet as long as it can!

Hydrogen Power has Arrived.

 India for a Scooter and Spain for a new type of Ship.

In recent years we have been crazy on everything electric, now in light of the rise in fuel prices at £2+ pounds per litre if no higher, but now the long awaited hydro powered 'real McCoy' has arrived and this will be the future for all transport!

The development of the electric battery will continue to improve in light of the European heatwave and many vehicle fires if not deaths?

With these new alternative fuel options the reliance of fossil fuels will diminish with time and thus we will have many new machines to use, but one cannot be complacent since heavy industries will still need the old fuels to making the newer things!

The U.S. a new path in Space?

Russia maybe Excluded?

NASA is being guided by the Trump administration into a new path of Space research and travel that breaks the long established cooperation! Currently the U.S still needs the Russians passage and re-supply to the International Space Station, but the new Gateway programme will see them be cut back to just one module in the whole project?

Artemis is the new project to return to the Moon to establish a south pole base that will lead eventually to getting humans on Mars by 2030? The sad thing is that many other nations such as China and Indi might pull it off with the Russians in a direct flight and return?

Elon Musk!

In trouble over a failed Launch?

Space is still a tricky business we may be able to launch rockets weekly up the International Space Station as well military spying, but from time to time there will be failures since humans are not perfect and make mistakes?

Musk has promised much in relation to taking men back to the Moon after forty years and reaching to Mars, with his new re-usable rockets? But this is still new and untested systems that need to be fine-lined, even the Space Shuttle still had teething problems that NASA failed to address at the cost of precious scientific lives for the prestige!

We are only sixty-one years into the Space race exploration, man has reached Pluto and now beyond! Gone to the Moon and built several Space stations culminating in the ISS! Soviet Russia/Russia and the United States were the first to dominate this race from 1957!

But now other nations have now joined this Space club, China, Japan, Europe, India, Israel and more are coming along such as Brazil, Nigeria and Iran!

Antonov Family. Part-Two.

Into the Jet age with the An-72/74.

The need for speed was perhaps one of the driving forces in the demand for this type of aircraft transport, which may also be seen as their copy of the BAE 146-100. 

The same principles for the An-24/32 was still demanded in this jet age version, but it was not initially as successful as the turbo props? Perhaps because it was not offered for export for some time and the turbo-props were good enough for foreign export.

India received the type and like the Antonov-28/32 was permitted a license to build their own. This policy continues to this day. One cannot be sure if the Ukraine is still capable of building and exporting or if the aero facilities have been moved to the Russian federation.

Apart from the giants like the An-124/224, a smaller aircraft to replace the An-22 was long overdue with the development of the An-70 transport. it has very good weight lift capability and uses the twisted propellers of the Tupolev Tu-95 bears.

Antonov followed with its own version of the BAE/RJ-100/300, but only with to engines rather than four. This aircraft has seen better success in the civilian commercial market one believes instead of the military.

Commuter Trains. Part-One.

Mass Movement.

The commuter train has become one of the most blandest of train types across the world? They are really box trains sometimes painted in nice colour schemes, but generally they have a dirty appearance of over long term use. 

Indian railways and recent films showing the commuter system in Mumbai portray this demand for rush hour traffic! South Africa, Great Britain and Russia also portray a similar image, perhaps with less dirt and more colour.

Terms such as D/EMU (Diesel/ Electric Multiple Unit) is the official name for these trains that are capable of carrying 700 to 2000 people per run. Japan and India have the worst overcrowding problems, while the United States, Denmark, and Israel know deploy double decker carriages.

The Australian Navy.

Tri-Ships.

It is now perhaps Australia that is leading the world in marine design say that over Sweden, with its generations of tri-ships. These large catamaran designs have proved more effective to handle the conditions of the southern-Oceans and the Pacific.

The Polynesian peoples knew a thing or two about how to build wooden boats and hop from island chain to chain. These ancient boats covered all aspects of the sea from trade to fishing to war and raiding parties.

Australia's biggest problem at the moment is illegal fishing and immigrants hoping to cross the Indian Ocean, but we can be sure that there are many other illicit activities where these types of ships and patrol craft can handle better than single hull vessels.

Aviation Lifters. Part-Two.

Lockheed C-5 Galaxy, Antonov An-124/224.

These are currently the three largest giants of the aviation world in the area of heavy lifting, as yet there no cargo version of the civil Airbus A380 on the cards. Lifting of oil and drill rigs parts are the main uses today, apart from the ability to Carry ICBM (Inter-continental Ballistic missile) components. Russia, Canada and Australia along with the Amazon in Brazil are the areas for this type of work. 

We do not hear much about this, because these aircraft really are military more than they are civil. But now with exploration and the ever increasing demand of fossil fuels by developing nations, such as China, India and Brazil there is a demand for commercial contract flying.

Cargo Ships. Part-Two.

Container World.

It was the introduction of the container that has changed the world, we now can have anything and everything exported and imported in a metal box. The mordern world is built around the container, which can be carried by road, train, large transport aircraft and shipping.

These containers are available in various sizes, I have noticed that in India and Ireland they are smaller and are perhaps easier to handle without the need of a fork-lifter or crane. But the disadvantage with conainers is that they are good for hiding criminal goods and are hard to detect by police and customs.

Old containers are not heading directly to the scap yard, but now being used in housing projects both in the United Kindom and the Netherlands, while in Canada units are employed for small business start ups.

The Airbus Story. Part-One.

From A300 to A350.

The beginning of the Airbus story started in 1965, when British European Airlines proposed a 200 seat aircraft to compensate on the United States Boeing model 747. But it was not until the 28th October 1972 that the A300B2 took to the skies on its first test flight.

In 1970 eight European airlines and their national aviation companies from Germany, United Kingdom, Netherlands, France and Spain met to start the development of a total European joint built commercial airliner. 

The 28th June 1973 saw the A300B2 enter production, with the first delivery to Air France on 30th may 1974. This gamble paid off very quickly with orders from forty airlines in twenty-nine countries.
The A300 was reliable and cheap to operate, it could accommodate three crew and 336 passengers, was powered by two General-Electric CF6-50C1 engines.

Cruising speed 911km/hr at 9450 metres and a range of 5375Km. Other airlines to operate the aircraft were Air India, Saudi and Thai Airways.

From ISS to Moon Base?

Living on another world.

Many people have envisaged that in the space race humanity would eventually build a moon base to something akin to the British 1999 sci-fi take.

But it looks like that it will be Mars who gets the credit for the first other world base. This will probably happen for reality in the next fifty years. Maybe the first Martians will be human colonists, this will of course start an interesting ethical debate.

Any base that is eventually built will be modeled on those that are being constructed in Antarctica now. They will have to be small and easy to transport there in one piece, solar panels or a small nuclear reactor will probably be used as already on the International Space Station.

The last question is who will be the first to do such an venture, traditionally we would assume it to be the U.S. and Russia, with the ESA in support. But it may be China and a host of smaller developing nations such as Brazil, India and Iran that achieve this dream goal?

V/STOL Jets.

The history of the V/STOL (Vertical take-off and short take-off landing) Jets began in the 1950's in the UK, with the secret Pegasus project. By the 1960's British aviation company Hawker-Siddley had developed the engine and were working on an aircraft, which would later be known as the Harrier jump jet.

The British developed two versions of the Harrier, a ground attack and a navel version, known as the Sea Harrier. These top gun aircraft were exported to Italy, Spain and India, while the U.S. were permitted to build their own versions initially under license. AV-I/II Advanced Harriers.

Many new techniques were developed for the naval versions, first by the British and then the Americans. One being a ramp, which was fitted on to aircraft carriers and allowed the jets to produce a rolled take-off, cheaper on fuel. Spain and Italy built smaller pocket sized carriers dedicated to V/STOL jets and helicopters, such as the Spanish Matador class ships.

Soviet Russia had to get in on the act too and they developed the Yakolev Yak-36, which was more of a rolling take-off, rather than vertical type (R/STOL). This aircraft was believed not as stable as the Harriers, but the Russians developed it into the Yak-38 and later on to the perhaps still secret Yak-41/141 supersonic jet. Soviet aircraft were naval deployed and the Soviets had to then dedicate themselves to building their first aircraft carrier.

Soviet Russia is believed to have exported a small number to India, India is the only nation to have both western and Russian types in service.

The British Harriers saw their first combat experience in the Falklands war of 1981 with Argentina, over the (Malvina's islands). Since then the U.S. have developed super versions of their AV-series, the F-35 and F-22.

Irelands Railways.

New Railway stock.

Has the modernization of the railway network and rolling stock, north and south in Ireland taken away the charm, that it once had? 

Or has the newness of it all improved everything, speed, cleanness and comfort? 

Ireland has that unique limited gauge of track found on the massive railway networks of Brazil, India and Australia

The Coras Impoar Eireann colour scheme of orange, black and white, latterly yellow on those predominantly American 121/141/181/071/111 and the Canadian 201 stock locomotives had seemed to mark out a difference. 

Perhaps I'm getting old and have to many reminiscences that cover the sleekness and modern look of the new?

Am I right or am I wrong?