Buy an apache helicopter or fighter...

Government buyers from countries including Algeria, Angola, Colombia, Pakistan and India are expected to come and browse at the ExCel centre in the Docklands. Among the items on display for sale are warships, a Eurofighter Typhoon jet and an Apache attack helicopter (source).

Wow, I thought this kind of thing only happened in James Bond movies? Do they all walk around with henchmen and brief cases full of money? Or maybe it's like the boat show with girls handing out flyers saying "Fill in your name, address and government position for your chance of winning a life-time's supply of bullets".

Originally posted by Geoff

Government buyers from countries including Algeria, Angola, Colombia, Pakistan and India are expected to come and browse at the ExCel centre in the Docklands. Among the items on display for sale are warships, a Eurofighter Typhoon jet and an Apache attack helicopter (source).

 

Wow, I thought this kind of thing only happened in James Bond movies? Do they all walk around with henchmen and brief cases full of money? Or maybe it's like the boat show with girls handing out flyers saying "Fill in your name, address and government position for your chance of winning a life-time's supply of bullets".

You should try going to farnborough. I once had a long discussion with a guy from BAE systems about the JP233 ADW (distributes bomblets and mines over a large area). I feigned enthusiasm for the product and he was very happy to explain to me how lethal it was, and how cleverly it killed people.

Usually they promote their wares using video footage of test firings and fancy 3d computer graphics. They haven't quite got to the stage of draping their penis extensions (sorry, missiles) with luvverly babes yet, but I expect we will get there eventually.

A difficult one this, on the one hand ideally, weapons should be totally banned to everyone, but how is that possible? on the other, countries should have right to defend themselves from aggression.

A world without any weapons is only a dream, it is never going to happen, countries with the "knowall" and "wherewithall" will continue to produce them and mankind will be plagued by war for ever.

Might aswell push out some good old British product hey - even if the end users are tin-pot middle eastern dictatorships!

1Man&HisBMW

Originally posted by 1Man&hisBMW

Might aswell push out some good old British product hey - even if the end users are tin-pot middle eastern dictatorships!

 

1Man&HisBMW

The thing about tin-pot dictatorships is that they then use thiese weapons to quell dissent within their own countries, or embark on some demented war of national unity against a hapless neighbour. Then, what frequently happens is we discover that now we can sell arms to the hapless neighbour too.

Not only that but we will supply grants to the countries to buy these weapons in the form of export credits, so they get them for free, but they have to buy their powerstations or refineries from us.

It seems to be right and proper to manufacture weapons for your own defence, and even to share technology between close allies, but to almost indiscriminately export arms all over the world to anyone who asks, is immoral and destablising.

From a defence contractor's point of view, destabilised is good, because peace is bad for business and these people trade in the deaths of others halfway around the world.

Its a seedy business full of seedy people when you get away from the manufacture and get into the sales and trafficking.