Scape Scape:
Wait a second. The Greeks, South Korea (which has Hyundai pumping out the dam things) and even freaking Pakistan can afford a 214. How cheap do you have to be not to get one? Never mind we buy used British mothballs, dear god.
Don't get me wrong I think we can use them, we just could use a couple of German boats as well. Tip of the spear sort of thing.
It's not just the cost of purchasing the sub, but the maintenance that comes with any hardware bought. The C-17s cost $300 million each (give or take), but the maintenance package cost almost twice that (the deal was for $3.4 billion).
There's also the the fact that German legislators have rules on who German arms manufacturers send their goodies to, just like Canada (which I alluded to by saying "Allowed to"). Most of the countries that operate Kilos these days either bought them when the USSR was still a going concern, or are buying the Improved version these days (China and Indonesia). Others, like Iran, aren't at all that popular with Western defence contractors or governments at the moment.
And I wholeheartedly agree with the sentiment of getting the Upholders from the UK. It was another Liberal defence blunder. We did at a time when our budget was pinched, but because of the time and investment we've put into them, it'll be at least a decade before they are replaced.
CKA Uber 
oh - am I being facetious, Bush should have had his ass served on a platter over the debacle in South Ossetia, any nato or US leader who wants to piss the ruskies off with a missile defence shield in central europe (ostensibly to ward off an attack by Iran - oh spare me ) needs their collective heads read.
