Is there a compromise around shrinking the Harrier fleet and consolidating round a core force of GR9As? Would provide sufficient airframes to deploy on a CVS, provide some inital deck handling practice on CVF if necessary and generally keep the STOVL flame alive pending JSF introduction. Wouldn't save nearly as much as scrapping the whole fleet and infrastructure but would save some. I'm also conscious that once spending has ratcheted down it's not easy to ratchet it up again, eg when JSF is introduced. First post, but happy to accept any incoming I may be due...