Originally Posted by
Ken Scott
Any reason why the MOD can't do what all the airlines do, & what we did with the C17, & lease the tankers if we can't afford to buy them? Besides, what we really need are large ac full of seats for the transport role, with AAR as a secondary - although the fast jet air board probably see it the other way round.
That is what a PFI is all about! Leasing capability!! Unfortunately in this case it doesn't appear to be working. Sadly no-one leases tankers. FTSA's primary role is AAR, it's buried in the politics, and suggesting we do not need them suggests a sad lack of understanding about how much AAR we are doing, and more importantly how much AAR we aren't doing but should be!
One of the reasons FSTA's primary role is AAR with AT as secondary is because the FJ world, DCRS and DTMA assumed that we would always be able to lease additional AT and it would never have to operate into anywhere other than a benign area - DOH!