Well said David. Of course it would be nice to have what we want, however taxpapers money has to be divided between schools, hospitals, and other vital public services. We all have to ask ourselves, do we want good state education for our kids, and good hospitals for when we are ill, or 5000 tanks that we will probably never need. It could be argued that having large fleets of Challenger II tanks is a little pointlesss considering the the tank killing capability of the WAH-64D! Weapons systems today cost mega bucks, so we will never have all we want.
There hasn’t been a serious air threat to the UK for many years now, so to lose a squadron of F3’s isn’t all that bad. A couple of years back there was talk of scrapping the entire F3 force leaving no AD cover until the arrival of the Typhoon, so it could be worse! 😉
My initial response to the cuts was anger, but on reflection much of (but not all) the move makes sense. In a changing world the armed forces have to change with it, and it’s fair to say that the weapons systems of today are smarter than the platforms carrying them.
I still think we need to be careful though. The war in Iraq was over quickly due to the overwelming technological advantage of Britain and the US, however at the end of the day it’s still down to the soldier on the ground to win the peace. While Tony is slashing troop numbers on one hand, he’s busy preparing to send them to Sudan. Isn’t it time someone else sent their troops instead? To remove the RAF Regiments mobile AD capability is nothing short of madness, it’s not just airfields that benefit from their presence!
That concludes my essay! 😀
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