Eurofighter Typhoon - Flogging it off already?

[disco1]

Good old treasury/budget buffoons, looks like they've overdone the orders and can't afford the 3rd tranche without penalty or offloading a load of the aircraft to India or Japan.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/144f2f38-6e2e-11dd-b5df-...

[ninja-lewis]

I was under the impression that Tranche 3 was the one that will come with all the fancy new capabilities we've paid for, unlike Tranche 1 and Tranche 2 which are either basic or obsolescent.

[bobthemonkey]

Sort of - we have done some stuff to T1 to give it more capacity. T2 should be great. Anyway, the sale would allow funds to upgrade t1/2 to t3 potentially.

[Tony*T3]

A 'Plane we dont really need sadly (or maybe not so sadly).

[spikeyhead]

Weren't these ordered in the early 90s, very difficult to know what you want when the delivery time is so far in the future.

[Apache]

Tony*T3 said:

A 'Plane we dont really need sadly (or maybe not so sadly).

Are you kidding? Putin rattling sabres in Georgia, pissed off about a Cuba re-enactment in his back yard, Bears infiltrating foreign airspace?

We might need to reopen Gutersloh

[DJC]

T3 was always dodgy and has been known for quite some time that it may or may not come to pass. This was one of the main driving forces for upping the ability levels of T1 and T2 in particular. Offloading all or part of our T3 allocation isnt as daft an idea as it sounds either, or a money wasting exercise. By spreading the plane about, it brings in the support aspects of the contracts which are *very* lucrative.

[Blib]

ERIC !!!!!!

[telecat]

Given Russia's current stance this could be a very short-sighted move especially as the F-35 dates keep slipping!

[Fittster]

And how shall we pay for these new toys?

[rhinochopig]

Fittster said:

And how shall we pay for these new toys?

Magic beans of course.

[tomkandy]

None of the Eurofighter consortium actually want it, they're just staying in in the hope of receiving cancellation penalties when the others blink first

[Simpo Two]

Fittster said:

And how shall we pay for these new toys?

By cutting back on stuff we don't need.

[Fittster]

Simpo Two said:

Fittster said:

And how shall we pay for these new toys?

By cutting back on stuff we don't need.

Ah, but the public don't like cuts in spending. Previous election results have made that clear.

[DoctorFan]

Also to note that in the news today BAE Systems will be paid £2bn to provide ammunition to our armed forces.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7573160.stm

[rhinochopig]

DoctorFan said:

Also to note that in the news today BAE Systems will be paid £2bn to provide ammunition to our armed forces.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7573160.stm

Not surprising when the troops have christened the Javelin missile the Porsche given they cost the same per shot.

[SleeperCell]

I thought they already flogged most of them to Saudi Arabia?

[toppstuff]

If the Gov are offloading Typhoons on the cheap because they have over-ordered...

I have visions of dozens of them lining some dis-used runway somewhere next to several thousand unsold Rover 45's...

I'll have one. Can my local spanner service it? Does it come with a warranty?

[jollygreen]

Fittster said:

And how shall we pay for these new toys?

UK plan on spending 33bn on defence this year and 170bn on social care (not including NHS).

Easy maths. Less money for work-dodgers and immigrants. More money for hard-as-nails, don't-fk-with-us-warplanes.

And yes, I'm a tory.

[thinfourth2]

jollygreen said:

Fittster said:

And how shall we pay for these new toys?

UK plan on spending 33bn on defence this year and 170bn on social care (not including NHS).

Easy maths. Less money for work-dodgers and immigrants. More money for hard-as-nails, don't-fk-with-us-warplanes.

And yes, I'm a tory.

Maybe we could have chav cluster bombs

You drop the chav bomb on a country and it suddenly starts to replicate at am amzing rate and eats up all the countries resources