Sunday, September 05, 2010

F-35 critics weep softly this time. France and UK won't share aircraft carriers.

I first read the story of France and the UK sharing aircraft carriers over at Aviation Week and to be honest it seemed overblown.

Yes, the story was sourced from a reputable British newspaper.

Yes, the story was confirmed by a noted aviation expert/writer.

Yes, it seemed like something to make critics of the F-35 jump for joy.

And yes, it seemed like something from a think tank.

All of the above made the story suspect and this latest piece of information confirms it.
France and Britain announced Friday they are talking about sharing the cost of military aircraft programmes, but rejected reports that they plan to merge their aircraft carrier fleets."In terms of actually being able to share an aircraft carrier, I would have thought that that was utterly unrealistic," Defence Minister Liam Fox told reporters after talks with his French counterpart Herve Morin.
"But when it comes to pooling assets in other areas such as strategic or tactical lift I would have thought that that was a different case altogether," he added, referring to military transport planes and helicopters.
Read the whole thing here and get in a corner F-35 haters.  I'm tired of the whining.