My personal opinion - once again - is that the seedcorn concept represents little more than a fig leaf. At little, or no, cost the government/MOD can tell the world (and kid themselves too probably!) that the capability (MPA) can be re-generated rapidly if it is required.
As QTR says, what will happen in 3 years time, when the seedcorn are due to return home? Are they extended in post (indefinitely?) until the UK start to acquire a new MPA. If they are to be replaced - who by? Surely by definition, the reason you created the seedcorn in the first place, to preserve perishable skills, anyone you replace them with will have been out of the MPA game at least 4 years and will have less skills than those they are replacing!
If the UK went out tomorrow and ordered P-8s (still under development) or converted P-3s, we wouldn't see anything in this country for at least 3-4 years, quite possibly longer. Given the finances of the UK/MOD, any such MPA order won't be placed for at least 3.5 years. Thus any future capability is in the order of 6+ years away.
Posting a few (10?) people who are highly skilled in their specialization (MPA), but are probably relatively unemployable anywhere else in the RAF for some time, on an overseas MPA tour doesn't exactly require much effort on the part of the RAF/MOD but gives some (minimal) credibility to the words they are uttering about preservation of skills....
The MR2 stopped flying in Apr 2010, that's already 18 months ago.
