Cap'n Pugwash/FB
I have actually never said either Tornado or Typhoon was useless. Others have, but not me. Nor have I ever suggested binning either. Nor have I ever blamed the big bad Crabs for these cuts. Who got rid of the mighty Sea Harrier FA2? Err, that would have been the last Government/HM Treasury. Surely after the 1998 SDR all jets belonged to what was then Strike Command - 3 Group (which was quickly disbanded)?
I don't pretend to understand the interservice politics that may be a factor here.
Perhaps you might like to read the Ministerial corrspondence (
post 307) that I discussed in my post last night?
Wrathmonk
Was that when the RAF got slagged off for poor strafing by Harrier? The irony being, of course, that GR7/9 never had a cannon...
FL
Not a total waste of time, as it encourages the Ministers to talk to the SO1/SO2 level subject matter experts. As for being busy - well, they will be even more busy if our defence policy is on the wrong side of the Geopolitical changes in the Middle East and North Africa.*
Life has exciting things to offer - where?
IO
Some of the pre SDSR speculation talked of losing ten or more frigates and destroyers and having SSN numbers reduced - maybe to just four. That would have been even worse.
*Talking of which:
'Random. Fallacious. Arrogant.': The Government's confused defence strategy
The defence review has weakened key air and sea capabilities, with the scrapping of the Harrier jets and HMS Ark Royal one of the most controversial decisions. Senior military figures are so concerned that they have produced a briefing now being circulated within the Cabinet which contradicts Mr Cameron's optimism that Britain could play any meaningful role if a no-fly zone was needed over Libya. It warns: "The resources required in terms of land-based fighter aircraft and supporting units for the enforcement of such a zone are significantly greater than those available within the British military inventory." It adds that if the Harriers and Ark Royal had been kept in service, "Britain would now be in an incommensurably better position to assist in the enforcement of a no-fly zone over Libya."
Also....
But even General Sir Richard Dannatt, a Conservative adviser and former chief of defence staff, backed the call for a rethink: "There are moments in history when any government might wish to re-evaluate its security and defence policies and priorities – recent events in North Africa and the Middle East constitute one such moment. Even though the Government's SDSR is only months old, its conclusions should now be tested against the world as it looks today – last year seems a long time ago."