Deliverance
With you in charge it seems the air force would be AT & SH centric.
I don't think you need worry about that!
Agree that Air Power should be the Holy Grail in whatever guise. But then wouldn't we equip MRA4 with some AG capability? Big bomb bay, long time on station, capable avionics and comms, just lacking some cash and will power? Doesn't seem to be a ridiculous idea to me...
And no, I'm not a Nimrod mate!
Do you wonder whether there is a legacy of platform type to specific role that has maybe clouded our judgement on some of these issues?
I agree with your premise of thinking long term, however I would argue that this is too late in the day. The strategic direction ten years ago should have been dragging Typhoon towards delivering AG capability as a primary concern. Maybe this wasn't possible- anyone care to comment?
I don't think we should be losing any capabilities in the long term, but the current state of affairs was predicted by many and not acted upon.
I suspect that key actors like BAe Systems would have a lot of influence over this and their self interest would be evident.
We (as a service) face a lot of political challenges over the next 18 months and I suspect our survival is at stake in the longer term. The current malaise may have been avoided if we'd taken some bold decisions ten years ago, instead of pursuing the holy grail of a new generation AA fighter. We do need this-just not now.
Luckily with my 20-20 hindsight pill, I would avoid the same mistakes...