Thread: RAF Harrier's final flight before retirement..

By 2018 with current planned cut backs the Royal Navy will be smaller than the Australian navy.

The cuts have been done as the alternative was to hit social security. Defence even when fighting a couple of wars is still an easy target as they do not down tools and go on strike like public servants.

Once the cuts are in place the UK will not be able to sustain the current deployment to Iraq hence saying intend to bring half the troops home in next 2 years.

Will not be surprised to see both the carriers which are on the building blocks sold to India before they hit the water. India is currently shopping for a couple of carriers. That they have cancelled the American aircraft which were suposed to fly from the carriers is a big hint. They are only being built as the company building them had the contract written so that if the contract was pulled they had to be paid the full price anyway.

As for the Falklands they are very exposed as a small raiding party could capture Stanley and its runway easily and quickly. Once that was held game over. Or is it as a new defence pact says the French will sail their aircraft carrier if British interests are in danger as a circumstance where an attack on one is not an attack on the other is not imaginable !

The RAF was told it could have Harriers or Tornados. As the Harrier was going out of service in a couple of years with no replacement the choice was not that difficult. The version still in service was ground attack only as the ones with air to air capability were withdrawn a couple of years ago as part of a previous cost cutting exercise.

Here is another one showing what the RAF pikots thought of the Governments decision.
Squint at the picture.