But what sort of Chinooks?
As I understand the announcement the “twenty-two Chinooks” are to be brand new cabs bought direct from Boeing and not someone else’s model D caste-offs. If this is the case will they be the latest F model? For as I understand the situation (but I may be wrong) this is what the production line is now geared up to building and any variations will add to the costs. What will this mean in relation to Project Julius upgrade? Or will there be another MoD bodge followed by a long stay in the snug shed just off the A303? Surely the sensible option would be to buy twenty-two F models then upgrade the rest to the same standard. That way, we get the state of the art latest model that will be identical to the version being bought by all our main allies. Sorry I forgot that’s not the British way, the RAF are only allowed to fly a British only model that’s more expensive and less capable than everyone else’s!