About time too......... The UK government will buy nine new maritime patrol planes from Boeing in a decade-long deal worth £3bn. The Ministry of Defence's deal for the submarine-hunting P-8A Poseidon aircraft also covers training, maintenance and support. Read more http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36763212
Yes Peter,I noted the aviation news from Farnborough yesterday The cancellation of the new Nimrod Mk 4,not retiring as the news item stated was accompanied by a statement that it would save the taxpayer £4 billion.Cancellation penalties footed by the taxpayer was not disclosed. It cost the taxpayer a further £200 million for the constructors to wreck the completed airframes. The decision has left the UK without maritime reconnaissance arm for many years.The reality must have dawned on the politicians when last year the UK had to use a third party to track a Russian submarine in the North Atlantic off Scotland. The Joint Warrior exercises,the last one held at Lossiemouth this past April must have been apparent to alliances that the UK was deficient in maritime reconnaissance....other air forces,Canada,France,Norway and the US put up the Aurora,the Atlantique and the Orion.The US presence was in the form of two US Navy Poseidons. As it stands the RAF Poseidons will not be operational until the end of the decade....nearly a decade without our own maritime reconnaissance arm
So the UK is NOT at the "back of the queue" for trade deals? Perhaps the MoD inserted a clause in the contract to that effect, if the US want us to buy, they must be prepared to sign a 2 way trade deal once Clinton or Trump are in the White House!