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This has nothing to do with commercial negotiations. This has to do with bringing a whole new class of technology into service alongside existing ones and the associated support costs for it.(...) I don't think this is any different to any other procurement. You simply have less leverage and there is less incentive for a manufacturer to afford you favours.
I was thinking more a long the lines of the example that I gave - something that supplements what Crowsnest does.(...) Like Crownsnest?
And this is an example of a technology which can be used to do the improving.And to a very large extent, we already do this, it's called the Recognised Maritime Picture and we can use a UK RMP, a NATO RMP or others. This is something we've done for years and continually improve using a host of technologies.
The conversation goes back to where I said:
It is easy to see quite a few potential roles for RPAS/UAV of various types, but most likely the main benefit will come from doing new things or doing them in new ways rather than focusing on replacing existing platforms one for one.
To re-iterate the original point, the UK should not get hung up on just duplicating existing manned platforms using unmanned ones, or aping the American approach on a smaller scale. Instead, the UK should focus on the actual problems that need solving and see how new technologies can solve them.