My money too would have been on the M311/346 combo; but then again I might have been swayed if a better case were put forward by a competitor in a fair and balanced competition, and with the benefit of the wider Requirements picture. It is common knowledge that BAe made it clear that they would not have participated in a competition had the MoD elected to have one. Now there's confidence for you. There's also a mega corporate bully.
.
The MoD's well reasoned recommendation - to hold a fair and balanced competition - went in to the Cabinet, and the decision to ignore best practice and select H128 was the Cabinet's decision, completely against that advice. And it took the Dec(TA), IPT, Customer 2 and the whole FJ community by complete surprise. Thereafter UKMFTS were compelled to write the URD/SRD in conjunction with BAe in order to ensure that we didn't ask for more than the H128 could achieve. Barking, or what.
.
I'm not saying H128 isn't going to be a fine training platform; I'm saying we'll never know just how much better a competitor might have been over the period of UKMFTS (25 years). Well actually we will know, when other nations (like UAE perhaps) make their choices without the baggage of British politics.
.
Tosh? Maybe. But if you want to read some real tosh? Go back 5 posts and read #10 by someone who clearly writes with an agenda.