TBM-L, Andu; just in case you have not noticed, Australia is one of few countries in the world boring ahead with unaffordable defence expenditure toward capabilities based on a questionable defence policy. Nowhere in air capabilities planning has there seemed any intent to provide the most cost-effective (optimised) hardware that will adequately do the job and so make the defence dollar go further. It just astounds me that some more recent retirees and many serving members seem blase regarding the continued reckless splashing of taxpayer dollars.
Well; it is all going to catch up somewhere down the track and the ADF will predictably become somewhat neutered because many of its overly-ambitious expensive capability programs will not be able to be maintained because operating costs will soar and some military roles may even have to be curtailed. In harder times coming, taxpayers are not going to be very supportive of increased defence expenditure by an organisation that a Senate Committee has already deemed dysfunctional.
I guess we will just have to wait and see which sensible nation around the world reintroduces the Caribou into military service, for cost-effective reasons. Maybe it will be Air America (the CIA) as they found them very useful previously! Have another peep at this site: Pen Turbo Aviation
Last edited by Bushranger 71; 30th Dec 2011 at 18:38.
Reason: Additional thought