Originally Posted by KenV
And "right for the UK"? I thought this was a LM bashing thread. It sure has that look and feel.
Not really justified. There are plenty of folk here with the full spectrum of views. Were it not for that, there wouldn't be much discussion and the thread would end up like the hundred or so F-35 fan threads on F-16.org where everyone just keeps posting how wonderful everything is. Fine if you like that sort of thing, but not of much interest if one is capable of independent thought.
Yep, plenty of UK folk who don't blindly trust defence manufacturers, with good reason. Remember there is a history in the UK of bashing BAES, sometimes for good reasons, sometimes for very wrong ones - changing political requirements, changing military requirements from MoD and some massive differences of opinion with consortium partners, among other things. So it's hardly surprising that there are lots of people around that are not easily taken in by contractors' glossy brochures and assurances that all is well.
LM have not been flawless in the programme and there's nothing wrong with examining those flaws. The press and other open sources have often been dramatically wrong or just plain disingenuous (been wanting to use that word for years). We are fortunate to have lots of well-informed people here to keep us all straight when the arguments go beyond the bounds of reason.
Just my thoughts. Everyone keep doing what we do here and keep on self-policing when the "banter" gets too harsh.