Posted on 03/01/2011 7:06:44 PM PST by sukhoi-30mki
RAF forced to cut training hours for pilots on new Typhoon jet
RAF has just eight pilots capable of flying ground attack missions in new Typhoon
Richard Norton-Taylor
The Guardian, Wednesday 2 March 2011
The RAF sacked pilots training to fly existing fast jets. Now it has been forced to ground pilots learning to fly the next generation of planes.
In a devastating report on waste and inefficiency in the MoD, parliament's independent watchdog says a lack of spare parts has forced the RAF to cut the hours pilots need to learn to fly its new, long-delayed, fleet of Typhoon aircraft.
This has "increased flying risks", it says, and as a result, the RAF now has just eight pilots capable of undertaking ground attack missions in a Typhoon.
"Whilst this is sufficient at present, it will not be so in the future," warns the National Audit Office.
The Typhoon, originally called the Eurofighter and conceived in the 1980s to attack Soviet planes in the skies of northern Europe, has ballooned into a £37bn project.
Partly because of a decision to cut the number of Typhoons, the cost of each plane has risen by 75%, according to the report.
The RAF will still be getting 16 more Typhoons, at a cost of £2.7bn, than it says it needs because the MoD would have had to pay for them anyway due to contractual obligations with the manufacturers.
Typhoon production costs have
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
That’s ok. I’m sure the cradle to grave welfare going to the millions of Muslim missionaries in the UK is money much better spent.
Maybe we should buy (and update) the 53 "oldest version" Typhoons and hand them over to the Marines - it worked with Wildcats and Corsairs after all.
"Whilst this is sufficient at present..."
Sufficient for what? Putting on an airshow?
With this force they will assist in enforcing a “no fly” zone on Libya?
Tornado GR4s are still the primary ground attack planes of the RAF, but they are scheduled to be retired soon as more Eurofighters are delivered...
Where’s the gun on the Typhoon?
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