Originally Posted by
andrewn
The T1 fleet must be reaching end of useful life by now. Realise that various parts have been replaced / re-lifed, etc but it really does not owe us anything. I also think it's noticeable that the REDS are finding it more difficult to generate 9 serviceable jets on a consistent basis, plus as raised above it seems counter-productive to conduct "flag waving" and sales tours with a 40yr old jet!
So, yes, for a multitude of reasons the right answer is to cough up for a few more T2's and secure the REDS future for the next 30yrs (hopefully).
I also love the frequent disband the REDS requests, purely from an economic point of view it's nonsense as (1) the annual running cost of them is minute compared to "more front line jets", "more blah, blah, blah", and (2) you can only "save" the money once - so once you've disbanded them and realised that all it gets you is a fifth of one Typhoon, you then have to scrap a full squadron of Typhoon's or something else to meet the Treasurys latest "efficiency saving".
I disagree. Disbanding the Reds right now might not save a huge amount of money but you were also talking about buying more T2's which will cost a lot. You talk about the savings in relation to the cost of a Typhoon but perhaps you should think about that money being spent on decent accommodation or station facilities or other things which cost less than a new Typhoon.