Originally Posted by
melmothtw
To bring that point back to military aviation, in the early 1980s the UK defence budget was not so nearly so slaved to the US dollar as it is today, and will be for the coming years as we continue to buy F-35s, AH-64s, E-7s, Protectors, more P-8s maybe, etc....
Let's try and add some perspective to this. I've got these figures through a very quick search on my phone, so they might not be totally accurate, or both from the same financial year, but the principle is sound - and no doubt someone will correct me (hopefully politely) on the numbers.
Defence Budget £48 Bn. Amount spent on procurement £12 Bn.
So it would appear that only about a quarter of the Defence Budget is spent on procurement - and not all of that is American kit.
So, if we go for a period of expansion. Recruiting and training more soldiers, sailors and airman, and then paying them, the cost of that is going to be funded in pounds! Maintenance of current facilities in the UK,and possible expansion, pounds again. Warships built in UK shipyards, pounds. Training more pilots - pounds.
Yes, much of the high tech kit we buy these days is American, so the exchange rate WILL matter. But it won't impact all of the Defence Budget, and orders might be stretched over a longer period to compensate for the higher unit costs.
Best I duck back out of this now.....