Jindabyne, of course I accept your apology, thank you, you stopped it turning into a slanging match.
It would certainly be an own goal if the Saudi contract falls through.
I have little knowledge of the capability of the aircraft other than what is in the public domain. It seems its French rival has also gone through a protracted development phase but the Typhoon project seems fated to attract bad press e.g. cost overruns, guns, the CGY nose wheel problem etc.
Perhaps for now the emphasis for the aircraft should be placed on developing, qualifying and utilising its air-ground capability even at the cost of A-A so that within the current climate it can be SEEN to be money well spent (not to mention giving Harrier a much needed breathing space). Perhaps not quite so sexy, but surely more pragmatic else Joe Public will really start to wonder about all the money our generous government is pouring into our Services (who are really not overstretched because the Stats Office can show you all is well with a nicely coloured graph).
Backing off now.