At least they will have a full complement of aircraft, I suppose
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I genuinely wonder whether the clever (Taking politics out of the equation) thing to do in times like these is to just build fresh Harriers/ older generation, proven aircraft and fit them with modern Radar/ Meteor, Sidewinder X, glass cockpit etc... Stealth will be outdone by heavier ground based Radar; then what with the plastic fantastic F35 have? In the future fights we are likely to engage in, would it be worse to use 2 Carriers full of Super Buccaneer/ Super Harrier and the flexibility that brings, compared to using a handful of F35?