FB11 - good quote. I'd also like to offer sqn Ldr (later MRAF 'Bomber') Harris who said 'serving in the services in the immediate aftermath of a war is not an exciting or particularly pleasant experience'. Substitute 'aftermath of war' with 'aftermath of SDSR' and I see his point.
Ah the Harrier cheaper/dearer/cheaper/dearer than Tornado argument - always glad to see that one again! The truth is that nobody has any idea which one is more expensive given sunk costs, capabilities, engine contracts, jobs in Industry, etc etc. We could argue about oranges v apples until the cows land, but I doubt that we'd get a clear definition of costs (or indeed value) on which to agree. Bottom line, we had to bin one FJ type and for some political reason best known to 'Our Dave' he went with binning the Harrier (quite probably the toss of a coin). I'm sure that it made political sense - and to be fair to the PM, the voters don't really seem to care what he does with Defence do they?
