As an afterthought (and to address the posters in this thread gleefully posting footage and pics of Atlas doing natural surface Ops, dropping 24 CDS containers, and banging out flares) clearly there is a world of difference between a test pilot doing a controlled demo of a capability in a field on Salisbury plain - all the footage - and a 70 / 30 squadron junior pilot doing the same thing in theatre - which is what everyone seems to think that footage means.
What the aircraft is cleared to do and what the front line and training system can develop and sustain so that its crews and instructors are capable and competent is another matter entirely and is likely the sticking point in moving forward.