Can I just say that as a Dark Blue aviator who may end up flying the Merlin4, I would like to completely dis-associate myself from the majority of comments suposedly supporting the Navy on this and similar threads.
The CHF knows exactly what it is like to feel under threat, and I am damn sure that many in the Merlin3 force are feeling the pain also at this moment. This whole Merlin debacle has been p**s poorly dealt with by senior officers, both light and dark blue, who have no idea what it is like to work in a truly joint environment.
It is the unfortunates in the CHF and Merlin force who are working side by side AT THIS VERY MOMENT on ops that have to deal with the uncertainty...
I can't read this drivel without commenting on those who make comment on 'joint this' or 'joint that blah'. The people who will be affected one way or another by the Merlin Transition (train smash?) are, ironically the very ones making jointery work now.