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U.S. Refuses to Hand Over Fighter Source Code to UK
orbitalia writes "The UK is heavily involved in the JSF (Joint Strike Fighter program) but has recently considered abandoning the project because the US refuses to share the source code. The UK had intended to purchase $120 billion dollars worth of aircraft to operate on two new aircraft carriers, but is now seriously considering Plan 'B'. This is likely to be further investments in the Eurofighter Typhoon project." From the article: "It appeared that Tony Blair and George Bush had solved the impasse in May, when they announced an agreement in principle that the UK would be given access to the classified details on conditions of strict secrecy. The news was widely seen as evidence that the Prime Minister's close alliance with the American President did have benefits for Britain ... 'If the UK does not obtain the assurances it needs from the US then it should not sign the Memorandum of Understanding covering production, sustainment and follow-on development,' the MPs insisted."
Poor Tony the Poodle Blair. Kisses ass, and gets treated like a lapdog.
Oh wait...
The American military machine, touted as the strongest, most efficient, lethal, modern and advanced, has just got a beating from AK-47 wielding thugs of IRAQ. The sad thing is that it has takes three years and almost 3,000 coalition deaths for the military authorities to acknowledge this. You no longer hear statements like "bring them on"..."We'll prevail"..."stay the course"...
Who tells these military folks that the so called modern weapon systems win today's wars?
Look, the Europeans and Americans can produce all the weapon systems they want...even with their massive debts and budget deficits. But in the end, a guerrilla with a reliable weapon like the AK-47, is more lethal than all those flying coffins. One incident that was reported were guerrillas who submerged themselves with their Ak-47s in a swamp, waited for the coalition forces to pass them, then they emerged and fired. Very few weapon systems can fire just after being under water.
"Advanced" weapon systems are of limited value in todays wars. Just ask Donald Rumsfeld who just acknowledged a few weeks ago that things are really bad. To see how and more, point your browser to http://www.liveleak.com/.
Before buying into the Eurofighter Typhoon, the British should consider a few things about it:
1. In order not to offend anyone, it contains parts from many different groups, including the Middle East and North Korea. All under GPL. (And you know the requirements of the GPL license.)
2. The French parts tend to eject at the first sign of trouble.
3. Everyone will have free access to it, on demand, but it will take 8 to 12 weeks to get to fly it.
And finally,
4. Of course, no weapons allowed. Or smoking. Or cheeseburgers.
I think that it is clear that the UK need to follow most of the rest of the world, and get back to being self reliant, and formulating its own foreign policy, not taking orders and instructions from, or relying on a foreign power.
Sure, and just as soon as the UK decides to spend more than 2.5% of their GDP on their military, they can start pursuing an independent path. By themselves, the UK don't have the money or the talent any more to develop state of the art military equipment across all possible spectrums. They have to "ally" with someone, and like the parent's parent said, who do you really trust? The US has gone to war twice to save the UK in the 20th Century. The UK has gone to war twice in the 20th Century to save France from Germany.
As for the special relationship the US has with the UK, how many other countries has the US given access to the Trident II D5 missile?
The UK is a sovereign country, and if they want, they can go forge their "own" path and jump into bed with the bureaucratic dictatorship that is the EU. More power to them if thats what they want. But they are hardly in a position to forge an independent path these days. Geopolitical power has shifted away from those who are no longer willing or able to use it to those who are, and those with the demographic momentum to sustain it.
I think you are being culturally insensitive.
Maybe people from the UK are really fond of sheep.