TWA
you keep hitting the nail firmly on the head - Just to clarify - I am merely alluding to the whingeing that goes on.... I bet the ex-service pilots who are now flying civvy would rather their successors in the armed forces got a decent service commensurate with the hard work they (the armed forces) are putting in, and that the ex mil pilots are not the ones who are whingeing about the awarding of contracts!
It's a balance that has to be achieved between service and cost - or would our 'patriotic' civilian pilots rather the MOD blew a larger than required proportion of its already meagre budget on ensuring that British companies secured the contracts, thus denying our servicemen and women the funds required to provide them with equipment needed on the frontline (basics which are still not always getting provided, such as appropriate clothing for the operating environment or body armour etc etc).
Maybe the problem is that the MOD does not have an adequate budget, but until they do, they have to juggle what they have -
in the interests of the services, not some civvy company or its employees! 