An eight-carrier force could require well over 300 Sea Harriers: sixteen active squadrons, three national training squadrons, and aircraft undergoing maintenance. At least 48 AEW Sea Kings are also envisaged across the three countries. The proposed delivery sequence gives Australia ships four and six, with Canada receiving seven and eight. Sea King and Lynx production would also rise, and India could enlarge the market further. A larger international fighter fleet makes later upgrades such as targeting systems and guided weapons easier to fund, while making elimination of the British Sea Harrier line politically harder. The US Marine Corps might then base its Harrier evolution more on the Sea Harrier, gaining a fighter able to defend amphibious ships as well as attack ground targets. Spain and Italy could follow that fighter-oriented AV-8B path even while building their own carriers. Production scale changes unit cost and helps determine which branch of an aircraft family survives to receive later upgrades.
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Eight carriers reshape the Harrier production ecosystem
A fleet of eight large Invincibles could raise Sea Harrier production above 300 aircraft, sustain British development, and pull later US, Spanish, and Italian variants toward the fighter rather than ground-attack line.