Cutting aircraft orders does not always have a direct proportionate saving - note what happened to Nimrod Mk4 not so long ago - the exact details escape me - loss of three a/c for combined total saving of 21 million - need to check last NAO Major Projects Report. Watch what happens when it gets cut to 12.
I suspect a similar pheonemon (sp?) will assert itself as and when/if EF's 3rd batch gets the chop....
What a wonderful project it is - no-one can admit publicly just how much of a mess it really is.