Well the crazy thing is that if all the money that had been spent re-engining the F4s with Spey engines, supposedly to enable them to fly off a boat the size of the Ark, had instead been spent on new build ships, the navy could have had three new carriers. But instead the money that was spent went to make work in the aircraft industry, and nothing too wrong with that I suppose; it seems it's the job of government to bail out struggling institutions.
However, what is odd is the industry chosen to be subsidised, in this case aircraft , rather than the shipyards. And that choice was made by the then Labour government , which according to pprune myth and legend, is historically subservient to the wishes of the unions.