All to familiar is it not, the echo of the ongoing castration of the UK aircraft industry by Uncle Sam, ‘Doffs Cap and Wretches In Same’ But a contract is just that and the small print says it all,
Sadly the Uk will continue in this rut untill our government finally learns to tell the White House to get stuffed and rebuilds it’s aircraft manufacturing base once again. ‘Hastily studies small print to establish the dollar value that comment is about to cost me’.
Fair point – but having first hand experianced of the MOD airframe disposal policy over the years, the reality is that pen pushers and clerks will rub their hands with joy when faced with an opportunity to stamp ” struck of charge – scrapped “ as opposed to any protracted documentation paper chase in releasing an airframe to a civilian organisation or individual. It takes about one minute paperwork to ” write off ” 100 Phantoms to the scrappy. That compared to several months if not years ( MOD official reaction / response / paperwork time ) to sell same quota of airframes off.
If you can bolt some obscure and probably long lapsed treaty “excuse” for such action, it means Pimms all round early in the Whitehall MOD asset disposal staff bar.
I do not think the American give a monkeys about a few ( by US standards ) pre-owned aircraft. After all, the guys who knocked up the origional sale / agreement to the RAF / Royal Navy gave these Phantoms a second thought after disposal.
Nope, a lack of interest by our own people with the capability to preserve has been the cause of the extinction of many, many more airframes than anything else. Lets start with the Halifax, Hampden, etc etc.
Finally, not geting political here, but it sems to be popular culture to knock Uncle Sam for any reason of late. Last I looked we were still on the same team re: Iraq, Afghanistan etc.
And if it was not for the USA we may be discussing ( or more likely wispering quietly ) the disposal of Luftwaffe airframes on Luftwaffe bases in the UK!
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