I wish some would stop going on about the reds being a recruitment tool. We don't need to recruit. There are currently at least 250 people applying for each pilot post. And the most pertinent point abutting that is that we currently have a large surfeit of pilots.
Being a 20 year RAF man I'm loathe to see the reds go, but if we're truly going to be down to single figures in FJ squadron numbers, then I'm sorry but they have to go. We can't afford a squadron of FJ who are there to bolster virtually non existent recruitment, non supportive industry, or good old fasioned
PR. The
PR role is doing us no good anyway, as argued in previous posts.
Herc-U-Lease: If you think a tight diamond 9 formation has the likes of say, Jong Il or Mugabe quaking in their boots, with nothing offensive to back it up, then you live on a different planet mate. The only formation they'd be afraid of is a wing of armed bombers overflying their capital, and we lost that capability a long time ago. Even then, these nutcases don't necessarily respect what you have. Nutcase is nutcase. Look at what North Korea are up to despite what the US are deploying in the region. You cannot face up to despots with a red painted flying circus.