Hoots,
I can well imagine why you are being defensive about Seedcorn (although methinks thou dost protest too much), but many believe the wider MPA debate trumps a wee bit 'o vested interest.
However, if you want a grown up rationale on Seedcorn, read on...
Operating an MPA takes a number of skills, specifically:
Maritime Ops knowledge...Seedcorn not required, RN has this in abundance.
Piloting skills...Seedcorn not required, RAF quite good at this.
Generic sensor skills...Seedcorn might help a wee bit, but most of this stuff is taught in basic flying training schools, like what was NAAS (or AEELS in my day).
Specific aircraft skills...Again Seedcorn might help a wee bit, if we end up with something similar, but plenty of new aircraft have been brought into service throughout the history of the RAF without any such Seedcorn type project.
Here's a none Seedcorn route back to capability.
Buy/lease some ac (for arguments sake let's say P8)
Buy some training off the spams...ie send two crews (mixed RN/RAF whatever) out to the States and run them through an OCU.
Bring them back and they kick off an OCU whatever.
Point is it's not rocket science...it's pretty bloody obvious and that's why Seedcorn has obviously had a political edge to it from day one.
I'm a gambling man...I'll give you evens, they will come home at the end of their tours and it will be allowed to quietly whither.
And you know what, I really, really hope I'm wrong.
Last edited by The Old Fat One; 7th Mar 2013 at 15:09.