You have to be sure of what you mean by delay - MoD and AirTanker will be talking about entirely different things. When MoD started a programme called FSTA there will have been a timeline with a stated EIS date. From my memory the discussions and negotiations that then followed dragged on and on, with what from some perspective could be viewed as changing of the goal posts, if not almost the pitch. These then extended the time until a contract could be signed. In that contract AirTanker will have agreed a delivery schedule of the service (rather than of the aircraft although the 2 are linked). When AirTanker talks of being on schedule it is referring to this plan and not the original MoD Procurement Plan. Much as many of you would like to do so, you cannot blame AirTanker for the internal MoD/Treasury created delays before the Contract signature.