Surely if Air Atlantique and the Ozzies can keep a privately owned Canberra flying each , then the MoD can afford a few bits n pieces to keep at least one of their TT18s flying???
Its laughable it really is - I ask you , a couple of poxy Alpha Jets to essentially replace a Sea Vixen, 2 Meteors, 2 Hawks and 2 Canberras for specialist target facilities and support functions!
Incidentally when I was up there in '91-92 (ish) there was talk of converting a couple of ex RAF Phantoms to high speed drone configuration to replace the cvix. Imagine that a red'n yella Phantom - sooperb!
Then the money dried up when the MoD went civilian.