Originally Posted by
Bob Viking
As I have said many times, I will be delighted to be proven wrong but I still don’t see Aeralis being the logical choice.
Their USP is the common wing concept. I am struggling to see any customer, the RAF included, who needs that right now. In the RAF’s case they are solely after a straight Hawk T2 replacement. That means that the Aeralis comes across as a ‘Jack of all trades, Master of none’. There are much better options for a pure Phase IV trainer already on the market.
I really don’t want to see the RAF lumbered with a poor aircraft just to satisfy British industry. I mean, when has that ever happened?!
BV
I suspect we will see this continued level of interference especially noting a) Dinenage’s husband is in the Lords and is appointed as a
Defence Security Advocate established to help drive UK Defence exports and involves engagement with both UK Industry leaders and foreign Government Ministers, and b) Reid is in the Lords and on Aeralis’s board.
There are more COIs here than you can imagine. That’s before diving down the rabbit hole of Mr China being on their Advisory Board and the very non-British nature of the supply chain especially when looked at via ownership. Rumour has it there’s a capability investigation underway into their maturity…….
https://hansard.parliament.uk/Lords/1984-10-17/debates/8682880b-879e-46a2-925a-91b914046600/RafNewBasicTrainerEvaluationOfTenders