As all in the services know, a lot of the problem lies in ' £5,000 for an oxygen bottle trolley ' etc etc, not the actual cost of aircrew inc training, engineers & aircraft...
Does anyone really think the Tories would be less inclined to give contracts to their chums / constituencies ?
Accounts & Statistics can be made to say whatever one wants, for example 1/3rd of car accidents are caused by drunk drivers, which means at 2/3rds these sober types are obviously a major menace, let's ban them !!!
As real life & accountants are worlds apart, they ( bean counters ) are the real enemy; remember the ' Hitch Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy ' where all such non-productive types inc' telephone sanitisers' & P.R. people were sent to a distant planet; when discovered by perplexed normal people, the answer was " okay you've invented the wheel, if you're such a smart-arse, YOU decide what colour it should be " !
While even high-up forces people think only politics & self interest, all we can hope for is something the size of the USS Enterprise ( starship not carrier ) to load them up & send on their way...
I do think the best current example is while the U.S. Have explosive cable firing ( old tech ? ) custom anti-mine tanks, we have Selly Oak.
Tories would not change this, it needs someone with balls from the Forces.
Last edited by Double Zero; 15th Mar 2010 at 22:34.