Lonewolf 50,
And, my dear yankee friend, we built TWO!
WEBF,
10, 12 Sea Harriers?
Come on! Prior to the Falklands episode the complement of the FAA's two Sea Harrier Squadrons was 5. After the Falklands with the FA2 it went up slowly to 6, then 8.
It ended with the ignominy of the RN having to form the "Naval Strike Wing at Cottesmore as all that they could scrape together was two flight sized outfits that they couldn't crew, as opposed to the two fully sized squadrons they were supposed to form.
It is no better today with the RAF/RN operated Lightning force. One operational squadron of nine aircraft, with another scheduled to come along some time between 2026 and 2030.
And not to forget that this single nine aircraft squadron is in actual fact a replacement for the Sea Harrier force, the Harrier force, the legacy Jaguar force, and the entire Tornado GR force.
I think the two carriers are magnificent, the F35B Lightning an absolute game changer, but the way the MoD manages numbers and mass is a complete and utter farce!