A below the belt cheap shot JDaz!....I suspect a review of 55 years of CHF ship ops might reveal some very interesting reading! Point being of course, that we all know (those of us of any service who have done it) that decks are interesting and demanding places....and even with the most professional efforts, things can rapidly overtake anyone........so lets keep the stone throwing for our spin doctoring political masters who think grossly expensive Puma upgardes are worth more to the defence of the nation than very capable Maritme ISTAR platforms (£3.5 Bn already spent!) that also can deliver precision weapons over extreme ranges...RIP MRA4
PS The loss of the MRA4 was no doubt a great belowto the above mentioned "if it flies keep it RAF" strategy.....by default the FAA now is the sole possessor of an ASW and dedicated maritime ISTAR capability!