Originally Posted by
MSOCS
PhilipG,
Majority (58%) of F-35 maintainers aboard carriers will be RAF; the same percentage as the pilots operating them. All light blue will be fully trained to operate aboard a carrier - full flood damage control duties, firefighting and emergency procedures as well.
For the the "mixed buy", the specifics of how spare parts pertinent to each type are segregated and managed are yet to be finalized, so it is too early to speculate on what that will look like, especially as there is time to work it all out.
Unfortunately for that "plan" all the "RAF" maintainers that I have spoken to have no intention of either embarking or remaining around to be made to do so.
So on top of all the other costs you are going to have train a entire new generation of maintainers, if, if you can entice them in the first place.
Now what was that about experience levels?