The Equivocator
Does this whole thread not strike anyone as bearing a striking similarity to the general maladies that our fast-jet centric air force demonstrates everyday?
The war-fighters are crying out for rotary assets, AT and effective and omnipresent ISTAR.
Someone posts a thread entitled JSF and A400M at risk and we get 95% focussed on turning the Typhoon money pit into a carrier aircraft.
I look forward to seeing more photos of CAS standing next to a Typhoon with a thick under carriage and a cctv camera on the nose. Brilliant. Meanwhile somewhere sh*t, sandy and hot, without an airshow crowd in sight, the operational RAF quietly gets on with it.
A honorable mention here to our sand covered brothers in the Harrier force! Hope PR09 is kind to you, but I expect not. Anyway what reward would you expect for doing such a sterling job on ops! If only you' done more airshows....
Or are we brighter than I give credit for and PPrune accepts that cancelling any rotary or AT project is just beyond comprehension in the current climate? No? Thought not....
Oh the irony....
The Equivocator ,
I personally think you're being a bit unfair. I don't think anyone is disputing the need for more AT, SH, ISTAR, etc etc. I think everyone knows its an immediate need in comparison to F35 and carriers - and I think that is why nobody is arguing about it on the forum - they know that ditching A400M would be barking - and those that have mentioned A400M have said as much.
However they're not so convinced that changing / ditching carriers and F35 are quite as barking hence the arguments made.
With regards to SEAD, I seem to recall someone suggesting the F3 would make a suitable SEAD platform and had been looked in to??