The date matters: P.1154 disappeared in 1965, before the East of Suez decision and before the Royal Navy's carrier future was dismantled. The Navy was comparing it with the Phantom and judged the conventional carrier fighter a better fit for the fleet it still expected to operate. The RAF valued rough-strip performance and NATO compatibility but did not want the joint aircraft to threaten programs such as Jaguar. This timing makes the cancellation a procurement and requirements failure in its own right, rather than a simple consequence of Britain's later withdrawal from large carriers.
Notable Point · 5:32-6:15
P.1154 was cancelled before Britain's carrier retreat
The 1965 cancellation preceded the East of Suez withdrawal and carrier cuts, showing that service preferences and competing aircraft programs killed P.1154 before Britain's later strategic retrenchment.