Bob,
They used the same argument for BRITANNIA but the fact is that any income derived does nothing for UK Defence. The fact is the days of using RAFAT for aircraft sales is over and why should we see real defence assets cut whilst the Reds stay flying - it is particularly galling to see the frontline FJ fleet decimated whilst RAFAT stay aloft. If the rumours are true the RAF will have a deployable strength of about 70 FJ (not total numbers) vs 9 RAFAT.