As for the 'special relationship', want a lot of s, h, one t. It is and always will be one way, which has been repeated several time in history. We have just scraped one old bird to buy another this is maddiness and as for the on time, on budget, trust me the Yanks will recover any charges via the "change control" process just as much as BAe systems would have done.
One more lost capability....
And another reason to add to this sorry list is the loss of the tanker contract to Boeing despite a better solution being offered by EADS.
Rant mode off.... Have a nice Christmas or as the Yanks say have a nice holiday.