Tim, Is the the fleet size not a function of the required operational numbers and the OSD
You could certainly say that but I just don't see how that line would go-down with the media and politicians these days. It's not as if we're talking about just a half dozen or so, and the notion of having a fleet of at least thirty surplus aircraft languishing in storage seems a tad unlikely. Surely, there will be some appetite to use them if we're talking about maybe two squadrons-worth of aircraft?
I'm sure there must still be plenty of enthusiasm for killing-off the F-35 but if that programme manages to survive, I can't help thinking that the Harrier force might be the ultimate casualty. You know how the thinking goes these days - it's a bit like the Jaguar saga. A couple of additional Typhoon squadrons would surely be enough to enable the bean-counters to say that the Harrier fleet was redundant and thereby withdraw an entire fleet and save a fortune. We know it would be absolute folly but we also know that it doesn't mean it's impossible!