Just when we needed them.

I guess it had to happen, in fact I knew it would, we get rid of the Harriers and now we need them and the aircraft carriers more than ever. The country has been put at a strategic disadvantage because the Government decided to bin one of the most versatile aircraft that was in service and the platforms it flew from.

The situation in Libya and the proposed no fly zone combined with the UN directive means that we really need a carrier based off the coast of the country with aircraft fly combat missions of all kinds. Be it in the air combat role or the ground attack role. We also need rescue helicopters for search and rescue should one of the aircraft get shot down. The ideal aircraft to have in this theater would be the Harrier combined with the now retired aircraft carriers. Yes we can use land based aircraft, but the problem will still be that the rescue helicopters will be having to fly long distances, making response times poor, and their will be a greater risk that the helicopters will be intercepted. Really the aircraft we need today is the harrier.

This situation proves how short sighted the move by the Government was to get rid of the harrier fleet in this uncertain world that we live in at the moment.