Whipping boy
I'm well aware of the fact that the military are also 'customers' and wasn't going to get into an argument about it on this thread. I was merely trying to point out to DFC that his assumptions as to the problems on the north sea were perhaps a bit off the mark. If you look closely at my last contribution you will see the word 'blame' is in inverted commas.
As for decent RAS, well a thousand ATCOs will give you a thousand different ideas as to what that entails. I'm well aware that the service does not guarantee 5nm separation but what it does do is guarantee some form of separation (ie, an avoiding turn). I personally think that in the Tay sector that is impossible to say that you will spot some fighter popping up and slamming into a civil a/c under a RAS and as such I can see the logic behind us being told not to provide a RAS under any circumstances.
Just one more thing, why would a ADN-NEW airway cost a fortune to the military? I know you can't exactly move Leuchars but a 10 mile wide airway with a base at, say, FL150 (perhaps a bit lower nearer NEW and ADN) is hardly utilising a large chunk of your playground.