Whenever I post something a bit off thread, the thread often dies. So...
WEBFoot,
The Harriers we sold the Americans are being broken up for spares. They won't lease us any of theirs because that would demonstrate to their bean counters that they have more than they need. Our Govenrment won't try to lease any because it would be yet another embarrasing U-turn and it would mean admitting that they shouldn't have sold them in the first place. We don't have the support structure for them and no one is going to pay for such a thing; they might be saving up for Dave B or whatever we get (if anything) once it's cancelled.
Whether the decission was bonkers or not, they are not coming back.
So, get over it and spend the next few years repeatedly watching this.
Sorry. That's how it is, fella.