Brontosaurus Mk2b
I just can't see the need for a dedicated AD fighter any more. I doubt the UK will fight hostile a/c armed with BVR weapons in the forseeable future.
Similarly I can't see us going to war without the Americans who have plenty of AD assets available. I'm sure they would be very happy to help us out. Clearly in the world we are in today, we need more strike planes. Sadly, we have spent 20 years re-inventing the Brontosaurus. I think the govt should have the courage of its convictions and axe it and replace it with a smaller number of F35s which are much more useful and can be deployed globally on joint assets.