Kind of hear your point pitothead, but there is a difference between choosing one 'fighter' over another, or a type of training aircraft over another, and destroying an entire capability honed over decades (to the envy of most nations) which cannot replaced for many years.
That's
the point. A stand alone capability costs far more in terms of support infrastructure per unit than a particular aircraft type.
We're loosing 9 aircraft and saving a huge pile of cash which you wouldn't be able to save by loosing 9 fighters.
We'll pick the capability up again at some point (no doubt after some unfortunate event) but for now it's all about cash in the bank.