Frost,
I'm sure that 2018 for Dave-C is tight, and that's before we get to the cost of the jets from 2015-onwards. Liam Fox's piece in The Times today is the strongest signal yet that it'll be (tiny numbers) of Dave-C over Dave-B (
- and about time too!), which is why French or American jets could make up a training airwing - indeed, if we're in the area of really odd ideas, we could do worse than to lend it to the USN to use for their training and CV-quals as CVT.
This would release a USN CVN to do something more useful, would train our guys up, and (wait for it) could be based in Mayport, Florida for a couple of years. (Boo-hoo, how tragic!
) I seem to remember that the USN has contract an SSK from Italy (??) to be based on the east coast to provide an SSK target for ASW training, and the US is paying the whole cost - crews, families, running costs, the lot - for 3 years. I doubt it's doable, but this is the sort of idea that the MoD and the Treasury could agree on....
What we need to avoid (unless it's a very, very good deal - a la the Aussie's F-4E lease in the early 70s which was practically free IIRC) is taking F-18s until Dave-C arrives. We can't afford the costs of another tiny fleet, IMHO.
S41