Whitewolf Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 3 hours ago, PLC1966 said: If the UK honours it's commitment to the purchase of 138 F35 - and given the fact that we keep making it known that we Will, it's not a case of having enough money for two variants. A split purchase of B and A variants will be Cheaper than an all B order. The airframes have a lot in common so we are not looking at having to have two completely different support structures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PLC1966 Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 3 hours ago, Stealthman said: If the UK honours it's commitment to the purchase of 138 F35 - and given the fact that we keep making it known that we Will, it's not a case of having enough money for two variants. A split purchase of B and A variants will be Cheaper than an all B order. The airframes have a lot in common so we are not looking at having to have two completely different support structures. I really hope the UK does meet that number of buys, however we shall see. In November, Lieutenant General Mark Poffley, Deputy Chief of Defence Staff (Military Capability), told the Commons Defence Committee that he was sympathetic to the idea of reducing Britains planned order of 138 F-35B, he would not make any such comment unless it was at least being thought about, much as the further comment he made that the MoD were looking at the possibility of buying a mixed fleet. And as for having a lot in common, 25-30% is the figure I see quoted whereas the Tornado F3 to Tornado GR 1 was some 80%. I guess we will have to agree to disagree that running two variants will be cheaper than one variant but at a higher initial buy price per airframe. I am sure that a number of far cleverer people than I are working on this. Although having worked at Abbey Wood I am not so sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now