My understanding of fire suppressants is the same as AC Ovee's (Srl 541); oxygen starvation. My understanding is also that pyros and OTTO fuel will burn happily in the absence of any external oxygen. So adding lots of weight and expensive kit is not going to make any difference to an event involving the stores on their carriers. The only fire a weapon bay extinguisher would have any effect on is a fuel fire. As DA4orce observed at Srl 546, the solution would appear to be stopping uncontained fuel leaks. Isn't that what we should be concentrating our minds on? Remind me what the argument was against co-ax fuel lines with the outer chamber safely vented? What would happen if AAR was conducted with the weapon bay doors open (limiting speed beneath the AAR envelope?) until the lines were depressurised and purged?
The 4 options seem to be:
a. spend money (to the detriment of another Force Element elsewhere) and modify the aircraft to a higher safety standard.
b. limit AAR serials to essential operational
c. carry on regardless and embrace religion.
d. ground the aircraft until resources can be found to increase its safety
I'm sure that many of you are not working towards option d. but, to a politico, you may be making it look very attractive.