So, to summarise the USAF is buying 179 of the KC-30 for $40 billion (lets call it £19 billion), thats a price of £106 million per airframe.
We, on the other hand, are paying £13 billion for 9 airframes (
AFAIK). Thats a price of £1.44 BILLION each. That means the US is getting their 13.5 times cheaper..! WTF?!! this is an outrage to put it mildly. But the maths reveals further facts...
I know that ours is a 27-year contract, but these numbers mean that if we bought outright a fleet of 9, and replaced them EVERY 3 YEARS FOR 27 YEARS for brand new ones, it would cost circa £8.5 billion. THATS A SAVING OF £4.5 BIILION OVER THE FSTA DEAL!!!!! And thats if we got nothing for the second hand ones... Put another way, we could BUY 122 frames for the price we are paying to lease 9. 122!! WAKE THE F@C% UP MOD!!!
I hope (in vain I know) that the dimwits in MOD read this and finally realise what everyone else realised ages ago; WE ARE BEING RIPPED OFF.
I'm sorry for all the cursing and shouting but this would be funny if it wasn't actually happening... I feel like a pedestrian watching a motorway pile-up unfold....
Off to buy EADS shares now...