| Flt Lt Mac |
25th Oct 2008 22:04 |
Cost is one of the main reasons cited for the cancellation of the project as the overall cost of the programme was seen to overshadow the military utility of the aircraft. There were several reasons for this. Firstly, there was the problem of sub-contractors putting in low figures for work and those figures being passed on from the Ministry of Aviation to the Treasury. Secondly, the plane was built in two different places, by two different partners who had not worked together before and control was invested in a series of ad hoc Ministry committees whose exact responsibilities and powers were not clearly defined. Third, the unprecedented level of reliability and redundancy that the RAF had asked for. Fourth, the difficulties and delays as already mentioned over the engines. Fifth, the tendency for the RAF to overload the project with optimum requirements. It was difficult to see whether the Air Staff could fully comprehend the scale of costs this was adding to the programme. Sixth, the delay in getting official decisions and the uncertainty this caused as well as the effect on morale of the production and design teams. Even so, by American standards the project had suffered only minor delays and technical hitches.
Sound like another aircraft project minus the Europeans? A400M?
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