MOD to be cut by 25%: Coalition says.

[andrewn]

If current speculation is to be believed then it doesn't seem as though your "leftfield" predictions will be too far out.

So the future frontline RAF could look something like this then:

Heli's
70'ish Chinooks (assume Puma pensioned off and Merlins to CHF)
A few SK soldiering on in SAR

AT/AAR
22x A400M
7x C-17
14x A330 (FSTA)

FJ
120x Typhoon
50-60x F-35 (some way off and a split buy with RN)

ISTAR
4x E-3D plus 5x Sentinel and a few other bits and bobs

So in terms of MOB's that's Benson or Odiham plus Brize, Coningsby, Leuchars, Lossie and Waddo with presumably Valley and Shawbury retained for training

Mmmm..... Someone somewhere is definitely making an assumption that major state on state warfare is either a) a thing of the past, or b) we'll have enough friends on our side to make our negligible contribution irrelevant.

Or of course we could just nuke them!