Guys,
Harrier / SHAR are gone - get over it. Only the latter would be any use in the current situation. Of more use would be Ark with 5 CH47s on board and a hangar deck configured as a dormitory.
This does however punch a few more holes in the HNS arguement; how far is Malta? How many jets/tankers would you need to maintain a 24/7 CAP? Bet we can't do it.
Mr Fox et al,
What you have here is your genuine "strategic shock". The military is your (our) insurance policy against them. Don't pay your premium, don't expect to be covered. I wouldn't mind betting that some "conspiracy of optimism" career-hungry starred officers who've played the triple/quadruple hatting of assets game to curry favour have had an awkward couple of days explaining that (stand fast Typhoon...) the cupboard is bare....