You cannot call out the AA at 40,000ft

Combat aircraft are expensive and so are their crew so no operator wants to lose either. The current need to deploy large ground forces to maintain and support them is also expensive and, potentially hazardous. It is therefore not surprising that the operators are looking to the manufacturers to produce aircraft so reliable that they can go for weeks without any maintenance. The question is, however, can we achieve the necessary level of reliability, with sufficient confidence, at an affordable price, to meet this requirement? (The AA is a large roadside breakdown service in the UK)