It is just a political proposal Brydo, a ‘wishlist’ in the hope that the U.K. Government will ‘play ball’, but frankly there is no chance of success?
I could have written that, and so could you have done, it is a fairy tale to be added to the bag of snake oil from Alec Salmond.
It is more than likely that we will insist on keeping the defence of these islands under our control, especially in the first 5-10 years, with some NATO input, and Nicki will actually, in private, breathe a big sigh of relief at that , because Scotland simply cannot afford a three winged defence force of the type and magnitude you are describing ,with £2.5 billion, even if you could raise it, not being enough?
Having said that, we are looking to shift a couple of Typhoons, as they are being replaced and a dozen or so have gone back to become spares, as I understand it?
I’m sure that several will become available to Scotland , in time, along with a full motion SIM , for training purposes, and as we gain the confidence in Scotland’s capability, and with new aircrew , coming on line eventually, we may increase the numbers , on the assumption that you can afford them – it doesn’t happen overnight of course, and is someway down the road, and frankly, independence will not really give you your own defence force, nor do I think that your supporters will want to bear the cost of such a venture, a defence partnership with the U.K., is the most likely outcome.
A couple of C 130j’s could indeed be spared, for maritime use, once again along with a full motion SIM ( which I have flown a couple of times , at BAE, before the aircraft entered service with the RAF ) at the time, the new shaped propellor on the J was causing a number of problems with US aircrew, but our guys were mastering them very well!
Frigates eh., wow , even if we had enough to spare ( since the Iran piracy, have you noticed how few operational vessels we actually have? ) which we haven’t, purchase and running costs , maintenance, dry dock, training exercises etc, some jointly with NATO, would break the bank !
Irrespective of Nicci’s rhetoric and spin, Scotland’s deficit is very high already and getting worse, even with Barnet , and it is basically explained by Junior school mathematics?
Revenues are just over £300 per head lower than for the UK whilst spending is more than £1,500 per head higher, so a lot to make up currently, without the extra expenditure of a defence force.
Nah, pie in the Sky Brydo, and part of a set of negotiations likely to go on for years, just like this thread eh?
I am giving up tonight, have a good one.
Regards
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