hey were granted their wish and as soon as they did they were in trouble as they couldn’t justify or generate funding as the platform wasn’t in the politicians eye or in an operational Th. GR4 was and the rest is history.
The Harrier had its coffin sealed when it argued to come out of Afghan. If it hadn’t then it would have stood a far greater chance of survival against the GR4 fleet.
I am sorry that is rubbish. It had more to do with the need for force generation . Against a backdrop of a massive black hole in MOD finances, It was either/or and there just weren't the seats or squadrons in Harrier to deliver what the RAF needed to maintain a credible pilot cadre and to build capability for Typhoon. We are also talking about back seat as well as pilots here. It was 5 squadrons versus 2 and the Harrier force just did not have the critical mass. An absolute shame as the GR9 was a great platform as was the FA2 before it. Many things were culled in that era and even the cancellation of every single Defence Contract would not have resolved the issue. I have no idea how Philip Hammond managed to come out a few years later and say he had balanced the books.
https://www.itv.com/news/update/2012...ced-mod-books/