Safeware, I don't call for a civilian authority per se, rather I call for an independent one, ie independent of the MOD. While it would seem sensible to "nest" such an authority with the CAA, its remit would be to manage and enforce Military Airworthiness. Given the consensus building here that the regulatory system itself is sound, I would propose that it be exported to an MAA manned by a similar mix of those who manage the in house MOD system, ie military (presumably ex in this case to avoid divided loyalty) and civilian. Hopefully the former would develop a more professional application to their work than a single posting presently allows, and both they and the latter would merely encounter support from above in their aim to make for aircraft and systems fit for the work they are put to. As regards the military aspect of their airworthiness, it is entirely fundamental to that fitness. AT aircraft having to fly low, land and take off in enemy infested areas need the basic protection of the likes of ESF. That may or may not be appropriate for their civilian counterparts, it is essential for them. It is an example of where the MAA would have a differing agenda to the CAA and would be complementary to it, not part of it. At the end of the day the task of a military aircraft and its crew is to successfully carry out the task allotted it, if necessary to its own destruction. The MAA would merely attempt to make that success more certain and the survivability of the crew more likely.