I agree with Trim Stab.
It would be VERY interesting to see if Dassault smell blood in the water and offer a navalised Rafale. Very interesting indeed. That really would put the cat (pardon the puns) amongst the proverbial pigeons. Buying fighter aircraft from the French? Lawks a mercy...
....Or indeed wasnt there a Sea Gripen variant being touted? Arent BAe and Saab welded at the hip?
FWIW, I dont know if the F18F story will gather pace or whether its another silly season press story. I mean, its not as if we havent got a history of going goggle eyed over American platforms such as the F16 et al is it? When we're already locked into a contract to buy something else that we never really wanted? Much as the F18 may be a good idea, a proven platform and it may suit our politico-military ambitions better, I think the story will either gather pace very quickly or be chip wrappers within a week.
If Bae start squealing, then we know theres some truth in it.
