We thought that of Israel and Iran too and look where it got us. If all the UK wants is source code for weapons integration then when don’t they just push for an agreement that the US will assist with integration if requested?

Yeah sure and kill off the UK’s Aerospace industry. With this attitude you will loose the UK as an ally. 😡

Another thing to note is that the UK didnt take anything to the table, if not today then tomorrow the US partnership would have worked out how to make a VTOL might have taken them longer but they would have made it.

Now that is nonsense. Apart from 2 Billion Dollars Britain contributed with an extremly large VSTOL knowledge (BAe and R-R) also very important stuff on the JSF comes from Britain. For example QinetiQ developed a device that makes carrier landings in rough weather for VSTOL aircraft safe.

I love the BAe Replica, I would prefer it’s devlopment to any JSF or Naval Typhoon. But that is dreaming.

Kovy wrote:
it is so obvious, so cleaver and so economical, that noboddy within the Mod will ever start to think about it

I agree with Daniel. Such a Rafale buy without enormous offsets would kill our aircraft industry. With JSF (even without ToT) BAe at least has the production of the rear fuselage of all 2500+ JSF guaranteeing work for Samlesbury upto 2030+. And according to BAe being worth about 17 Billion Dollars to BAe in the UK (that’s without exports, i.e. US+UK JSF purchase). And hey BAe/MoD are apparently now also lobbying for a British final assembly.

Virage wrote:
What with the tech xfer not happening PLUS the RR (along with GE) being excluded from the engine providers, the UK should look hard into the feasibility of JSF purchase.

Well R-R UK still has a 11% share (Bristol) in the P&W engine. R-R in the UK will only suffer minor from the GE/R-R engine cancellation, R-R in the UK had a 15% share in the GE engine, whilst R-R in the US will suffer as they had a 25% share.