She looks like Herman Munster!

Close, but perhaps.....

http://www.comicbrits.co.uk/Films/Ca...Screaming2.jpg

She reminds me of wee Jimmy Crankie!

Face like a Bulldog licking p$ss off a thistle!

Anyway, if you guys could wipe the dribble from your chins and get Ms Stugeon out of your fantasies for a moment. I would think that Waddington may well be the place, for reasons mentioned earlier.

As long as Sturgeonland threatens to leave the UK, no one in their right mind would create another base for a new platform, with all its support, north of the border. Has anyone told Ms S about the nuclear depth charges yet?

Two points from this CS.

1. I would. C'mon, most of us have done worse right?
2. I'd bet the farm on Waddo. If this happens obvs....

CM - newsflash. the NDB were withdrawn in 1991/2 :)

I know. But wouldn't it be fun if Ms S suddenly thought P-8 came with 4 complementary NDBs? Just me being naughty. :cool:

downsizer,

Clearly, you have given away your branch as a flight engineer! ;)

You may have hit the nail on the head there Courtney, everything the SNP says has nothing to do with objective concern and all to do with trying to feed paranoiah north of border about Anglo-Saxon indifference toward the Nordic Kelts. Defence was one of the weakest areas in there referendum campaign, no one even got round explaining where flying training would be situate? would they buy Hawks for the transition to flying the 12 Typhoons they were pretty sure they procure? What about early warning? the cost of restructuring the entire defence apparatus would take years and a lot of funds out of the supposed bounty for all the enhanced expenditure on other public services. What baffles me as a fellow Scot, is just how come as many as 45% of those voting in the referendum said Aye!:}

FB:ok:

So...what are we going to spend all this extra cash on?

I've seen various estimates, but the ball park figure is that it gives us an extra £7.5 billion a year on top of previous planning assumptions by 2020!

Even if it doesn't reach quite that high, I'm sure everyone will be as relieved as I am that the relentless freefall of defence as a government priority seems to have now been arrested.

Good Budget

But will the defence budget have to pay the £100 Bn costs in full for the new Vanguard & Trident replacement?

Trident was already factored into it, so it doesn't make any difference.

Goes to show that if you say something enough times it becomes true! As I understand it, £100 million is an SNP number. It is their version of the through life cost to design, build, operate and dispose. Even if true, that means it is not incremental as we already pay to operate

PA, I didn't think Trident was being replaced? I thought it was the"just" the submarines at the end of their hull lives?

Amazingly close to the NHS budget for ONE YEAR!!!!!!!!!

Honestly not sure what the future CASD package will look like or how much it will cost. Previous CAS though is quoted in todays papers that he is concerned that Defence will still have to make serious cuts to pay for it, despite the 2% guaranteed expenditure over the next 5 years.

Agreed. There's a risk of some creative accounting and smoke and mirrors, but even so the defence budget is in a much better place today than it was (or was predicted to be) a few days ago, and that deserves to be acknowledged as a rare piece of good news amid the traditional PPRuNe gloom.

Amid celebrations following the '2% of GDP announcement', and in full anticipation of the banter (about quality, battles won/lost etc) let us just remind ourselves of some of the 'bang' our near neighbours already get for their 'buck' (euro):
- an aircraft carrier and associated air wing
- air delivered nuke alternative to SSBN
- MPA
- BMD/MSAM (sea and land based)
- JPR/CSAR (and certified capable by US)
- own recce satellite capability (MUSIS)
- 225 fast jets (including the naval Rafales)
- 140 recce/attack helo (in ALAT)
- 115 SH (in ALAT more in air force)

and is working on and, if the Rafale programme is an indicator, will develop Neuron into an operational LO UCAS with or without partners.

Batco