Originally Posted by
Stuck On The Ground
The RAFs jets were pretty worn out, with the Force having been on ops almost continuously between Aug 90 and Jan 19. The other nations’ jets have not been subject to the same tasking pressures, hence why they have lasted longer.
plus, the German jets don’t fly so much because they spend half their lives in the paint shop for wacky schemes (I’m only half joking here)
Edit, to add: And the GR4 of 2019 was a very different beast from the GR4 of 1997, or even 2010.
Understood.
But remember that the GAF has recently had a programme of re-manufacture of some of the fuselage components in order to extend the service life. Something the UK could have done had it chosen to do so.
But it was obvious that the funding was going to be allocated to Typhoon, which was understandable.