I expect that this is why 50% of the evaluation weight went for the long-term maintenance, repair and operational support plans over the decades-long lifespan. One can speculate all one wants and even look to other contracts, but at the end of the day we're all just spit balling here about a project that won't crystalize for many months yet and for which all the manufacturing bits and pieces aren't contractually in place yet.
One thing is clear; so far the maintenance issue ts being considered a whole lot more than when the UK unloaded four used Upholder-class on us after the Pakistani's didn't want. Old saying from when I bought my old Triumph Spitfire: "Buy British - Buy second-best."