Of course officially there is nothing planned and nothing being discussed until Phase 1 is complete .... despite it potentially being only being 3 months away nothing has been discussed at any level above pleb
Unofficial rumour type speculation time scales;
Phase 1 - as long as it takes to get all forces in. When the Met come over, Phase 1 is complete.
Phase 2 - Rumoured to be immediate swathing cuts to rotary and the introduction of the 3 fixed wing. (1st quarter of 2015)
Phase 3 - Once fixed wing are in place, (April 2015) further reductions of rotary and overall staff by last quarter of 2015.
Don't be surprised if this time next year talk is of reducing to 9 rotary units, 3 fixed wing with the possibility of one more fixed wing joining Apr 2016.
Then there's the fabled Phase 4 - When forces realise what they need from air support and have had enough of not getting it. Some decide to go it alone with the help of a labour Home Office providing rotary ASU's that only operate within their own force boundaries, however they will be available to neighbouring forces at a cost, when NPAS ac cannot provide the required service.
To reiterate, this is totally unofficial speculation & rumour. No eavesdropping, paper sifting or memo reading by sources oop north has taken place. Other rumours are available, however how close will they be to the actual outcome cannot be assured
