Si Clic.... get back to the real world!!
"Oh and for those of you who always slag this aircraft off - the US101 won this competition against the odds on MERIT."
The USA choice of 'US101' was not made on merit alone. It is a crum of thanks for UK's adventure in Dubya's Iraq war. Nothing more, nothing less.
Until the RN is provided with adequate stores and engineering resources, Merlin will remain an outrageously expensive solution to a pretty basic problem (embarked ASW/ASuW/HDS, etc, etc.)