I understood that the cost of updating the Sea Harrier was so high that it was always going to be a non-starter given the service life left in the airframes. Therefore, the RN jumped at the idea of getting its hands on half of the RAF’s fleet of GR7/9s to see them through until JCA. Unfortunately, it appears that the transition from the so called ‘ship-borne multi role’ ops to the GR7 role has proved harder than some believed – especially for the older element of the RN. This coupled with the shortfall of RN IPS has led to the shortfall. The RN may still have 50 or so Harrier pilots but the majority are approaching their sale by date and are leaving and certainly will not be around to fly JCA.