Obiwan - good post, but to be fair, when was the last time a UK CVS deployed with more than 6 UK Harriers embarked? I suspect we'd have to go back to pre-HERRICK days?
I imagine we'll see Ark doing an impression of the old HMS EAGLE- kept for the next 2-3 years rotting in the dockyard and being stripped of anything useful.
As for harriers in flying condition - that'll be fine for a year or two, but once the training courses stop, and the fleets personnel disperse, how long will it be before we pass the point of no return for regeneration? I suspect within 5 years we'll have lost the ability to put the GR9 into the air - not helped of course by an insane budgeting system (thanks Gordon!) which will penalise us for stock holding. To keep GR9 in reserve will incur a fortune in costs sadly, so I suspect if there are no buyers, then the fleet will quickly dissapear from view.