Fact of the matter is that it isn't just BAE having problems is it??
In isolation it would be a matter of regret only, but taken in with the big picture things are VERY Different and VERY bleak indeed:
1. C130J years late in arriving, still not cleared for TAC Use and still beset with problems. Ohh yes I know the Loadies are well happy with them!!
2. A Tanker replacement is years away and will be a fiasco PFI to dwarf all others.
3. A400M not even signed for yet, production is years away.
4. MRA4 Not flown and I predict will NEVER fly, the same prediction I made a year ago.
Every year that passes without a solution is going to multiply the costs of getting out of this mess significantly!! In the meantime
our expeditionary forces have no decent AT and are not going to have for many, many years to come. The C17's we are using don't actually belong to us, they are on hire contract that's going to cost more than if we bought them outright originally. Duhh!!
Who put the Farce in the Royal Air Farce??
:o