The Grauniad:
Britain's armed forces are beset by bureaucracy and big willy syndrome by Max Hastings
.......I suspect there will be more tears before bedtime about the JSF programme, as the day approaches when cheques must be written for it. Somebody, probably the tenant of 10 Downing Street, will ask why we need this plane in addition to spending almost £20bn on the RAF's Typhoon, once called the Eurofighter. With both the F-35 and the Typhoon, a decade or two from now Britain will have too many fast jets and far too few transport aircraft.
The problem derives, as so often, from a big willy syndrome. Airmen measure their virility in terms of combat aircraft, and fight like tigers to maintain a large inventory. A rational defence review would oblige the RAF to face the reality that it needs a very small number of high-altitude interceptors and a modest force of ground-support aircraft...........