It is informative that when AAR Ops were suspended, AOC 2Gp allowed AAR to continue when operationally necessary. This order came out around 48 hours after the crash. If this does not indicate that Op necessity is the only driving force in the RAF at the moment, what does?
A £1bn shortfall in Defence Budget is also being reported in the press today, what chance securing the funding for bomb bay protection and fuel tank protection for MRA4 in this climate? Overdue a bit of leadership perhaps?
A very senior officer told me that he would love to have this protection on board, but the money simply is not there. This is no way to run our Armed Forces in a time of war.