It is not farfetched to think that we may be in a hot war with China one day.
That does not mean we would bomb mainland China, that would be stupid as you say, but we may need to keep our shipping lanes open or, conversely, help India choke China's shipping through Malacca Strait,
We have not had a long range bomber since we scrapped
The Pig.
The Yanks seem to trying to keep costs under control. The world beating 5th gen information technology of the F35 will be incorporated, the engines I believe will be 2 from the F 35, pilot life support will be current technology. Let's face it the Yanks are years ahead of "the rest" and this new aircraft is a compilation of the best proven ideas.
I would rather see our money spent other than defence but hoping isn't a strategy.
