Ah, Mr WokkaMeister,
We meet again.
Your characterisation of my position on Merlin is wrong, however.
I'm a huge fan of the Chinook. If you want a heavylift helo with triple hooks and massive capability, then I'd say "Buy Chinook and accept no substitute."
And I'd be the first to say that the RAF would be the poorer without its Chinook force, make no mistake.
But do we need
more Chinooks?
Is the Chinook a more suitable aircraft where you need availability, speed and a much smaller noise signature?
I don't think so, and I can see a useful role for more Merlins, especially if they're fully folding and marinised, like the last Eyetie cabs.
The Chinook and the Merlin are complementary, which is why the US Army is absolutely right to be buying CH-47Fs while the Marines get VH-71s for the Presidential mission (and the USAF should be Merlinning for CSAR-X).
As to the Hawk, the jobs it provides are in 'Black Pudding and Whippet' land, not in the SouthWest, and the long line of satisfied customers ought to reassure you as to the aircraft's qualities. And I'd sooner trust a BAE Hawk than a South Korean T-50 or an Italo-Russian M346.
I'm not one of those 'British is always best' merchants, and will happily beat a range of rhythms on my drum.
But I worry that your simplistic 'British-built is always inferior' beat will be too monotonous to stand for long......
