Beagle,
I think you've struck a deep chord with your comments.
There appears to be rampant salami-slicing of capabilties, delays to capital programmes and blythe "capability holidays" from RAF Centre...unless it's the typhoon we're talking about.
The fact that we're even debating the loss of one of the true world-class capabilities that we possess says it all. Offer 24 TypHoons to the US for a coalition op they'll see if they can find us some space between the F22s, F15s, F16s, F18s etc for political reasons. Offer up stuff they are short of or we do better, ie AAR, ELINT, ISTAR, SF etc and they always MAKE space.
So we'll cut the MPA force when they've rarely been busier, we'll keep delaying new tankers, we'll erode 51 Sqns capbility. We'll then spin the ASTOR, Reaper and Predator as our holy trinity for recce, the "massive" investment in A400/C17 as proof we're sorting out AT and, wait for it, 6 whole, new (well, a bit s/h) Merlins to solve all of the RW woes. Meanwhile the good ship (gravy train) TyPhoon sails along serenely, with myopic ex lightning mates getting all sentimental over an 8g single seat fighter with some endurance.
Typhoon is needed, just not 232 of them at the expense of other core capabilities.