I think you might have forgotten the 2 carriers currently in operation with a (for now) operational Harrier force. And the In service date of BOTH CVFs is still before 2020. First deliveries of JSF are 2015 and full scale deliveries by 2017. I think it's safe to say the RN does have a carrier force.
I was provocational on purpose and you're right about two remaining carriers. However, the Harrier force is unable to provide strike wing even for exercises and anyway the RAF Harriers are quite limited aircraft.
Current JCA (JSF) in-service date is 2018, and considering the progress rate of JSF it's very optimistic so perhaps, by luck, RN will have operational (ie. trained etc.) strike wing by 2020. Considering the schedules for defense programs during last 64 years probably not. It's also not sure if RAF Harriers will be kept in service until JSF's arrive in numbers.
As for carriers, HMS Illustrious has planned decommissioning date of 2015 and HMS Ark Royal the decommissioning date of 2012. There has been no news about SLEP, so as my layman's five euro cents go for retainment of HMS Illustrious as training carrier until new ones become available.
For CV(F)'s, the current commissioning dates are currently 2016 and 2018. As the projects have their inevitable British delays I'm fairly certain that neither will be truly operational before 2020.
French CVN De Gaulle perhaps isn't the best carrier in the world and Rafale may have it's problems but the carrier is there sailing and has real operational aircraft flying from her.
And as Kev said, 7 Astutes are still planned (reaffirmed last month) and all 6 Type 45's are now under construction/afloat. So all in all what you said was wrong.
For 4-6 I just nodded to rumours of Saudi Type 45 purchase. It's probably more certain that there will be six Type 45's in RN service. As for Astutes, the fact that last ones are reaffirmed is not a sign that they will be actually built. Maybe accelerated future SSBN production instead?
As for the number of VLS cells on the AAWs, as you said, the Type 45 is more sophisticated, so the chances are that less cells will be needed.
Finally, by 2020 the first FSCs (C2 is first I think) should be under construction, which will have a land attack capability (not sure exactly what yet though) so you could be wrong there too.
Might be, but considering that Type 45 is entering service this year and the project was started in 1999 with significant studies already made for the abortive Horizon project I think there's very small chance of FSC's being operational, unless it's sort of an OPV.
As for Horizon vs. Type 45 they should be fairly even matched, but FREDA, if it materializes, will be probably equal to Type 45 in many ways thanks to improved technology. Even standard FREMM's should be able to at least support task force air defense with their ASTER's, with SYLVER-70 able to fire ASTER-30 as well if necessary.
But anyway, I'm fairly certain that by 2020 RN and MN are fairly even matched with MN having a slight edge in most capabilities, perhaps SSN's excluded (I made a mistake with Barracuda schedule).
