The Air Branch magazine made a number of references to
Naval Flying Standards Flight (Fixed Wing). Any idea what the plan is for them post SDSR?
I too was suprised by the mistake made by the
Telegraph. Hopefully their reporting (such as comments about the Harriers and Reservists proposal being put to the Defence Council in January - reported on 15 Dec 10) is based on real ideas and proposals. It is meant to be a
quality newspaper.
When does the Defence Council meet?
Now here is something that has been confusing me. The Navies of Italy and Spain both operate Harriers, but both of them have much smaller numbers of aircraft that the UK does (did). How could they do that without it being prohibitively expensive? I really do not understand the line of argument that claims that a smaller number of aircraft, flying less hours, is just as expensive as a larger one. Is it because of RAB? Is it due to personnel needed for support (which would explain proposals involving Reservists)? Have we operated and supported Harrier in a particularly expensive way?