Prior to clicking on this thread a few minutes ago, there had been 3105 views on this thread.
I do not believe for a second that threads such as this are looked at solely by signed up PPRuNers - anyone on the net can look at PPRuNe. I understand that amongst the audience are a number of journalists, academics, and I would imagine, politicians and/or their researchers. This is one of the things that makes PPRuNe such a potentially valuable asset. When I post on PPRuNe it is this audience that I usually have in mind, rather than the serving/ex serving military that are to be found on this forum.
I registered on PPRuNe and started posting away to contribute to the debate about the Sea Harrier. A search of my postings will reveal that this was my main topic of discussion back then. This is an issue that has interested me for years. Much of my knowledge of defence and naval things in particular has come from reading such books as
One Hundred Days by Admiral Sandy Woodward,
Task Force (now being printed under a different title) by Martyn Middlebrook,
Sea Harrier Over The Falklands and many others. It also came from my family (in particular my father), careers booklets, media coverage (I've lost count of the number of documentries I have seen that were about the problem of naval air defence - including some very good ones in the last couple of years, including
Exocet on BBC2 in July(?) 2001,
Going Critical in late 2001 on Channel 4(see below) and
The Falklands: Exocet! in January 2002, also on Channel 4, and of course older programmes from the 80s and 90s. Certain elements of my education were directly related too - particularly when I found myself being taught an overview of Electronic Warfare by a (ex RN) person who had been involved in the post conflict studies of dealing with the air/missile threat at sea. Equally illuminating was my contact with members of HM (and on occasion other) Forces. All of this information is freely available - my function is solely to point to it.
See
Going critical || HMS Coventry
BlueWolf and FEBA, to return to your points, yes I did (last year and ongoing) attempt (with
some sucess) to raise the issue with my own MP (who acted on the issue for me) and also with other Conservative and Liberal Democrat MPs. Both opposition parties are opposed to the loss of organic air defence and have frequently clashed with the Government in parliament over this issue.
Unfortunately they do not have an adequate response to the Goverment's capacity for spin or distorting the truth. Talking of spin, did anyone ever find out who was responsible for that letter to the
Times last year from two officers who do not exist?
Meanwhile, the Sea Harrier continues to perform well in exercises....
Navy News - News Desk - News - Sea Harriers join Flying Fish
PS See also the CVF thread(s) as this is relevent.
PPS Does anyone know why this page of the thread, and the first one, doesn't fit on the page neatly since I posted this? Anything I can do about it?