I've been involved in OT&E at the OEU, DERA (as it was for a few months) and the mighty BAE. In my opinion the end users' interest is best served by keeping the manufacturer's role as is, keeping the OEU's independent from the makers and by moving the QQ bit away from BD and to the OEU. The advantages in support and currency are huge, but there are others, not least getting away from the airspace around BD.
It's just my opinion, but it's based on a lot of years doing the job.
Last edited by maxburner; 9th October 2006 at 18:49.
Reason: edited for a spelling mistake.