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Thriftiland - A Nation of Coupon-Cutters

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Logan Hartke:
I think both of those would be available (likely Chally 1s, as well), but I'm not sure.  The UK has a nasty habit of scrapping things as soon as they retire them, I suspect for political reasons as much as any.

I did think of the Jags, though, and think they would be particularly fine strike planes.

Cheers,

Logan

Alvis 3.1:
Almost immediately after upgrading out CF-5s to F-18 standards, the government had them stored, due to lack of funds to actually field them. We sold a few to Botswana, as far as I know, they are still up for grabs.


Alvis 3.1

Weaver:
New Zealand's A4 Kahu Skyhawks were in a superb state of fit when they were retired: they even had APG-66 radars with a cut-down aerial! I don't know what happened to them but they were damded tasty... Now Singapore does (or did) an excellent line in Skyhawk mods including re-engining with dry F-404s, so imagine taking the Kiwi ones to them for that..... 8)

I believe that Israel still has used Kfirs to sell, with the option of upgrades, and one of those was an afterburning F-404 in it's Volvo RM-12 version.

Logan Hartke:
Yeah, those are all great options.  There's a lot on the naval front, too, from the Varyag to the Foch to the Invincible.  Heck, there were even rumors of Kitty Hawk being up for grabs for a while.  With all the Harriers the UK had, you could basically buy up all the equipment you'd need for a ready-made carrier and air-group.  Second-hand naval aircraft include Sea Harriers, A-4s, A-7s, and Hawkeyes.

There are some other nice ships that went up for sale, such as the RFA Largs Bay and the USS Trenton.  A lot of decent destroyers have been sold with a lot of life left in them and the Oliver Hazard Perry class are fantastic ships for the price, in my opinion, a great deal considering the upgrade options and the versatility of the basic design.

I really do think the Victoria-class where a seemingly good deal at the time, though they have turned into albatrosses since their purchase.

Cheers,

Logan

apophenia:
Logan: Cool thread! Ships like the Oliver Hazard Perry class are a great deal for Developing World navies with no issues with their relatively large complement.

As you said, the Victoria class subs seemed like a deal at the time. The kicker was that it was a 'widow' class. With no sister boats anywhere and spares out of production in the land of their birth, these SSKs quickly became a liability instead of an asset.

Alvis 3.1: Not all of the CF-5s had completed upgrades when Ottawa pulled the plug. AFAIK, Botswana got the pick of the litter (maybe most importantly, Bristol's steel longerons). The remainder were part avionics upgrades and part original condition.

DSAL withdrew their sale offer on  CF-5s back in 2006. Some of the airframes may still be sitting at CFB Mountainview but the latest trend is to offer everything surplus up to museums or as base mascots. Same fate for the AVGPs (although Uruguay snapped up a few for peacekeeping).

Weav: Vickers' Chieftain 1000 had an MTU Europack. That might be a better Chieftain re-engining choice for the Thiftiland Self-Defence Force. Come to that, everybody in Europe is dumping Leopards right now.

Leopard 1A5s are readily avaiable although parts might prove a challenge. IIRC, having sold a batch to Canada, the Dutch have just offered up all of their remaining Leopard 2A4s and 2A6s. A good deal for somebody. Then there's all those Bundeswehr Marders about to be disposed of and Rheinmetall ready with a really impressive upgrade package  ;)

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