I can see the Treasury's point -re FRES. This project has been around for some years and MoD seems no further forward. The recent HoC report…..
http://www.publications.parliament.u...ce/159/159.pdf
acknowledges the inextricable link to C130 and A400M. C17 gets one mention, but quantity of aircraft is not discussed, nor the (assumed) reliance on the US C17 fleet. I don’t pretend to know all the details but to me it looks like another BOWMAN waiting to happen. That is, the budget (£15Bn we’re told) doesn’t include a raft of equipment and capabilities required to actually make it work. Also, if we bought Military off the Shelf (MOTS) it would promote interoperability with our allies which, although not policy, would be a big advantage.
Come to think of it, I’ve described CVF perfectly….