rdd%ukc.ac.uk@NSFnet-Relay.AC.UK (04/11/90)
From: rdd%ukc.ac.uk@NSFnet-Relay.AC.UK
After the WWII, Finland signed the Paris Treaty, in 1947. The Treaty
limits Finland to a maximum of "60 front-line aircraft".
As the definition of "front-line aircraft" is somewhat misty nowadays,
Finland has managed to have a very interesting inventory. For instance,
it has some BAe Hawk T.60 trainers (not classified as front-line aircrafts),
which can be used either as a ground-attack aircraft or as a defence fighter,
as the RAF does - The RAF Hawk T.1A carries two Sidewinders under each wing,
along with the Aden 30mm cannon under the fuselage (the latter also used in
the ground-attack configuration).
I think it is a rather good idea having a varied inventory as Finland does,
in case of war. But it can pose a lot of logistic problems to keep all
these different types of aircrafts in good shap, not to say about the
engineering personnel needed.
Rudnei Dias da Cunha
rdd@ukc.ac.uk
Computing Lab, University of Kent at Canterbury