I am sad to hear about the in flight incident with the mil A330. Hope, all recover well. However, the damage to the whole fleet is done, and this will be a sure test of the military airworthiness system.
Talk of the TriStar being extended is warranted as the RAF faces the prospect of having no AAR capability in a months time. In fact, one can speculate that serious failures may have already started with the Prime Ministers promise to provide the French AF with AAR capability for CAR falling flat on its face. However, the effect on TriStar personel will be considerable and, although they will rise to any challenge, they will get scant reward-probably lose out on postings and promotions if the delay continues.
FSTA is screwed-up in many ways, and Billions of pounds have been wasted IMO.
OAP