Anglo-US Defense Deals In Jeopardy

According to the Financial Mail, French fighter jet talks are a major snub to Washington. In an unprecedented move, Secretary of State for Defence John Reid has opened talkes with his opposite French number, Mde Michelle Alliot-Marie after he gave a ‘verbal contract’ to purchase 150 of the French Rafale Marine aircraft, should they become available.

This in the wake of US refusal to allow the UK access to it’s software technology for the joint strike fighter, an aircraft the UK taxpayer has already funded to the tune of £2B – about $3.5B.

What this means, is that if an aircraft malfunctioned, it could only be repaired in the US, and the Uk could not arm the aircraft weapons with the correct codes, especially if the US prohibited force against one of it’s ‘allies’ (supported up by the US).

This is of course, not the first time the US has refused the UK access to the software technology for it’s aircraft. You may well remember the fiasco over the Longbow Apache the UK adopted and the outrage it caused.

Either we are allies or not. Simple. You need us more than we need you.

*cough*

allready posted yesterday in the fighter forum

What fighter forum?

I did not know they had their own forum.

somantics.


fighter forum to mean the catch all for the aircraft projects section which seems to full of fighter talk

closed...follow Harlequin's link (see above)