recceFAC,
First BZ to you and your mates for saving lives out there (and for aiding the opposition's existential desires through coordinating MFOs - Martyrdom Facilitation Operations). Bl**dy impressive, and I understand your concern that the UK is busy talking about A war rather than THE war.
However, and it is a big however, the defence budget is almost certainly going to be cut substantially after the next "Review". A little birdy tells me that if the MoD gets "flat cash" - ie, the same amount next year as this and so on, the they'll be about £4bn short in 2013/14 (apparently it's in the NAO Major Projects Report 2009).
If you then assume that the parties aren't kidding when they say that they're going to cut spending on defence (and the other "non-protected" departments) by 15% or so over the life of the next Parliament (2013/14), then that implies a cut for the MoD of another £5.6bn - making the hole in the MoD's black hole becomes £9.6bn or so
IN 2013/14 ALONE!
In other words, to balance the books in 2013/14, the MoD would have to cancel CVF twice over. In one year.
Oops.
So against this, the answer to your question is as has been said here already: GR9 is never going back to Afghanland, and we're broke, so let's chop it. When (and not if, in my opinion) the carriers are cancelled, the CVSs will be binned and the remaining GR9s with them. Fundamentally, though there is A war on, the UK is treating it as a war of choice, and not one of national survival. Consequently, it is not pouring all of the available resources into it, and is very unlikely to do so. Thus, as the GR4s have a larger force for longer ops, are more useful in the round, and the GR9s were going earlier anyway, it's a reasonably straightforward (if painful) decision to choose the GR9 as your saving, if you have to cut one type.
Sorry, and I wish it were different. It isn't. And before anyone jumps up and down,
NO political party is likely to produce a manifesto that protects defence spending, let alone increases it.
Just my 0.02.
S41
PS BV - learn to play nicely with the other children!
