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Old 16th Jun 2011, 20:00
  #801 (permalink)  
Wrathmonk
 
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Admiral Sir Jock Slater was First Sea Lord during the earlier 1998 Strategic Defence Review
And quoting direct from the 1998 SDSR :

In an historic agreement between the Chief of the Naval Staff and the Chief of the Air Staff, a joint RN/RAF fixed wing force, "Joint Force 2000", will operate from both land and our aircraft carriers. This will initially bring together the Sea Harrier FA2 and RAF Harrier GR7 into joint operating packages, but in future the RN and RAF both plan to operate a single, common aircraft from land and sea - the Future Carrier Borne Aircraft. No decision has been taken on the aircraft type, but the US Joint Strike Fighter will be a strong contender.
Which is, I'm sure most sensible types would agree, was the first nail in the coffin of the FA2 and the perceived loss of control of the FW FAA to the RAF. So with all respect to Slater he should perhaps look at what he started, on his watch, before chucking accusations about.
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