Finnpog,
I do not know whether to be honoured or flattered by your belief that I am a troll, but I do feel kind of nervous as Admin Guru appears back on the scene and posting here
I agree totally that the UK should have an amphibious capability (so no Royal baiting).
I disagree with the current trend by JHC to make everyone capable of operating from decks, woefully naive and hence if the nation does need an amphibious capability, the helicopter bit is best placed with the Subject Matter Experts (and what ever anyone says, as a force CHF certainly could cobble together much more embarked experience than anyone else, even despite HERRICK).
I disagree that the Chinook is the solution to everything, whether in the Land or Maritime environment, and we are much better placed serving the Land requirement if something else can do the majority of the Maritime lift without us.
But......and this is where I try not to come across as a troll, but a sense of reality, and as Neartheend reminds us, we are broke and just maybe there are some political U turns around the corner on SDSR (which wasn't rushed don't forget!) which might just see the requirement for Merlin and CHF removed. If not removed, just delayed and deferred by the politicians to the point where it becomes just too expensive (my guess, around 2015, when the current Govt could do with some MOD money to sweeten up the election hope and a Merlin project behind schedule, over budget due to political indecision in 2011-12 will send it the same way as the NImrods - to the breakers!).
I really do hope that the Merlin transition goes smoothly, there is absolutely no reason why our manners cannot smooth the outflow into both Puma and Chinook, to give Defence a relatively cost effective amphibious helicopter capability (which whether we like AW or not does put money and jobs into the Yeovil economy rather than France or Eastern Europe wherever the Puma upgrade is taking place), but Defence is broke and unlike our airships managing to get positive funding for Puma, I don't quite see the same interest or imperative from the Fishead hierarchy with Merlin, probably because they have ships and submarines to save, and helicopters aren't really the core equipments, or maybe an amphibious force has not been deemed an essential capability by the politicians, who knows?
Harsh, but only trying to be realistic in these financially screwed up times.