Impiger
Given the Naval Staff consists of a bunch of Fish Heads who have sold the FAA down the river by not fighting the NAVAL corner as a whole your comment carries little weight.
And as for ALLIED FORCE, diverting AAR assets? Come on, really, because those Tornado Gr's from Bruggen really did, well let us face it do very little to alter anything in Kosovo.
WEBF motioned
"Until Febuary 2002 it was planned to upgrade it. Why upgrade an aircraft you don't need?"
Thus is very true, even to this day certain EW trials are being conducted for SHAR (sorry chaps can't discuss here) that make it one of the (if not the) most survivable platforms in the inventory against SAM threats (again can't mention system specifics).
And Impiger let us carry your argument further, during TELIC what did the F3 community contribute? To paraphrase a certain U.S. 3 star NOTHING, ZERO, A DUCK! In fact it was motioned to get them out of PSAB as they were not a swing role aircraft (a v. popular idea in the CAOC). Finally for you, obviously a deluded indivdual who believes that the light blue can cover every inch of the globe from its land bases, GET REAL! Warfare is expeditionary, if land bases cannot be obtained then it is up to carriers and carrierborne airpower in conjunction with amphibious and airbourne forces to make anything like this possible. So how can MoD requirements conclude carriers are 'not necessary'? Are you an accountant per chance, best mates with that scottish prat of a chancellor who cannot add up?
At the end of the day a decision has been made and the first result will be seen on 31 Mar 04. If a spineless collective of senior officers (i include light blue and army, although predominantly Fish Head) cannot stand up to the least educated and least polticially astute and effective excuse for a government the UK has everseen; one willing to gamble the lives of a couple of thousand MEN and WOMEN onboard ships of the RN, then i hope they can live with the decission if this is proven in the next 8 years or more.
As for going to war without the U.S. Blair has not the balls to stand up for what is right for Britain, mainly putting thugs like Mugabe in a box once and for all and returning Zimbabwe back to its prosperous rightfulness................
Oh sorry chaps can't do that it is not PC, may be conceived a racist!! My backside......................
The SHAR was conceived to provide air defence to the fleet and have the ability to provide ground support to amphibious forces going ashore. I propose it has fulfilled both and given the tiny budget it consumes one that would have been ECONOMICALLY, POLITICALLY ANDMOST IMPORTANT MILITARILY viable until the advent of JSF.