Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveC
Wonder how much a Burke (F100) would cost instead?
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Dave, do you mean an Arleigh Burke US Destroyer??? If you do, I think they would have come in a lot cheaper, even built under licence in the UK. However defence spending is not logical, there is a grand strategic plan called the Defence Industrial Strategy, endorsed MoD policy, which ultimately means that UK companies get the R&D, and build contracts - did I say companies? I meant compan
y of course, BAe Systems. It is grossly inefficient but is seen to 'protect' UK jobs and the industrial base. It is more important to having 10,000 people employed than to get good value military equipment. Not sure if that is right.
There is also the difficulty of buying 'off the shelf' US equipment in that we do not necessarily get all the requisite computer codes etc, and 'we' would feel politically beholden to our US colonial cousins if we used all their equipment. Just look at the debacle over the JSF F-35 project. I could go on but I would bore you all to death!!