The aircraft was promoted overseas but by 1983, India was the only operator other than Britain. Both Argentina and Australia declined to invest in the aircraft. The decision by the Buenos Aires government was significant as UK pilots may have faced a much formidable enemy had the Navy been equipped with the Harrier. A second, upgraded version for the Royal Navy delivered in 1993 and listed as the Sea Harrier FA2, improving its air-to-air abilities and weapons compatibilities, along with a more powerful engine. But despite the overwhelming qualities of the Harrier and without any replacement at the time, the UK government made the decision – on what appears to have been financial reasons – to withdraw the aircraft from service with the Royal Navy in 2006. The Indian Navy continued to operate the Sea Harrier until its retirement in 2016.
In the 1950s, the government sought to cut defence spending and reduced the size of the fleet. The big battleships and carriers were withdrawn from service but senior officers wanted to develop a new carrier to maintain a maritime fighter aircraft capability. In 1966, the Ministry of Defence plan for the CVA-01 class of large aircraft carriers was cancelled. During this time, requirements within the Royal Navy began to form for a vertical and/or short take-off and landing (V/STOL) carrier-based interceptor to replace the de Havilland Sea Vixen. The first V/STOL tests on a ship began with a Hawker Siddeley P.1127 landing on HMS in 1963. With and other carriers in need of extended and expensive overhauls or total replacement, a second concept for the future of naval aviation emerged in the early 1970s. It was centred
