With that list I'm a little surprised we had any flying up here with service crews on - I wonder if anyone involved with the flight testing feels free to confirm or deny that list....
Still, at least now we know what he based his decision on.
Dave
I think the problems (though potentially challenging) listed need to be kept in proportion, as other posts imply.
The cancellation decision was initiated by the need to save money. The end.
The on-going delivery niggles and 230 bad publicity are convenient excuses which the politicians are now using as an side excuse to disguise the fact that this is a result of savage cuts in the MoD. Big cuts mean big ticket items have to go.
Hence this cancellation stems directly from the scale of Tory cuts - not due to technical reasons. It is convenient for the politicians to use this excuse, and it seems the ST are happy it also fits their agenda.
One question to ask yourself is, if the widespread cuts that are being made to manage the deficit were taken over a longer period than just to 2015 - would Nimrod have survived? I think its entirely possible.
Personnally I think the cuts are too quick, too deep, too fast - but not just for MoD reasons, but also for the wider UK economy. Everyone will start to really feel this - public or private sector.