The British Rafale fairy tale

A Royal Navy Rafale M, photoshoped 5 years ago...

 The Telegraph, December 18th.

Air Vice-Marshal Greg Bagwell, commander of the RAF’s No 1 Group, which controls all Britain’s fast jet combat aircraft, said that Britain was likely to end up with only six fighter and bomber squadrons, half its current number.

He warned: “That might not be quite enough.”

[...] Air Vice-Marshal Bagwell said that one way around the shortages was to collaborate more with the French.

“It looks like we are going to twin 3 Squadron [a Typhoon squadron] with one of the [French] Rafale [fighter-bomber] squadrons. I’ll make a prediction we will have British officers flying Rafale from a carrier within a few years. I’m quite sure of it.”[...]

That's quite interresting and also unexpected from an active RAF Air Vice-Marshal to make such  an assumption but this is not the first time that the British Rafale fairy tale has poped up when the British Mod needs to frighten some politicians (or the the British voters/taxpayers). 

The last time it was to pressure the white house and get the source codes of the F-35 weapon system... it worked.

Today it looks like the pupose could be to prevent too much cut in the RAF fleet : Flying the Rafale would be the ultimate shame for British Pilots, wouldn't it ? ;)