Fair point, I got the 200 figure from the RN website and it may need updating to round it down a smidge.
I do have another question. During WWII Coastal command was put under the control of the RN because all its work was in conjunction with the RN and it was a far more sensible arrangement. How will it be any different when the JCA squadrons get up and running? Two squadrons at least are going to have to be worked up for carrier ops and given the tempo of operations at the moment, one carrier is always likely to be away. Why not call them 800 and 801?
I know, I know, I'm pi$$ing in the wind on that one - but I do think that the RAf pilots will be timing their squadron appointments to get out of carrier time and the RN boys will be timing theirs to get into it. Result - the RN pilots remain the embarked specialists and squadrons with RAF numbers will have minimal RAF involvement. What's the point of that?
Roland - an MR2 might be able to find something, but lobbing out a liferaft hardly qualifies as rescue. If LGB and stormshadow are integrated, then feel free to claim the capability, for now you can't. I concede that the Lynx has substantially less endurance, but it is employed with the GR7 ethos of staying close to the action and having an increased sortie rate. You can't condemn the Lynx ethos without damning the GR7. The fact remains that a Lynx can get to a lot of places that a Nimrod can't, unless you want to move Australia on the globe - again!
