' Nonsense as in only having 6 type 45's, and selling off our Type 23's in the meantime ?!'
- Let alone having no Fleet Air defence; even selling off our very short range Type 23's - just as the AIM9L could claim to have won the Falklands Air War - and the FRS1 was the only aircraft able to get it there - the AMRAAM & FA2 were the only things able to defend the CBG, a hell of a lot longer range than a Type 45 even if one's available !
So, let's see, Sea Harrier with AMRAAM range 50 miles+ in all weathers, now stuck with GR7/9, effective range 1 mile with a Sidewinder in daylight hours usually.
I worked on the development of the GR 5-7 and Sea Harrier FRS1, FRS/ FA2 ...