Asturias, I don't think he was saying we could pick our conflicts; what I thought when I heard the (now) CAS say this was he was laying down a marker saying HMG needs to ensure that the UK armed forces have the equipment necessary to gain tactical air superiority to cover operations, whatever and wherever those may be, that operations where neither side can do so will turn in to a slugfest. (In the later case in IMO the UK would run out of men and materiel very quickly.)
In makes sense to me that in any peer or near peer conflict, the virtual impunity in the air that has characterised UK ops in the last few decades has lulled politicians into believing AD, SEAD, AEW et al are an expensive luxury that can be procured in small numbers would lead to disastrous consequences if the capability gaps are not addressed soon. CAS was pointing out one that of the main lessons from Ukraine is that the threats and hence need for a robust air superiority capability are real. I can't see how UCAVs pootling at 170 - 300 kts will be effective for long in a hostile environment but that's a whole other debate.