Editing Invincible-class aircraft carrier (section)

===Foreign interest===
In the mid-1970s, the [[Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi|Shah]] of [[Pahlavi dynasty|Iran]] expressed interest in acquiring three ''Invincible''-class ships and a fleet of twenty-five [[BAE Sea Harrier|Sea Harriers]] to provide fleet defence. When the [[Iranian Navy]] could not commit to providing sufficient personnel for manning the vessels, the ship order was cancelled in 1976.<ref name=Iran>[http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,11062.0.html Secret Projects, 13 September 2010]</ref> A later proposal to buy four "Harrier-type" vessels was also discarded, as were later negotiations to buy the Sea Harrier.

The [[1981 Defence White Paper]] and its planned reduction in the size of the carrier fleet saw ''Invincible'' marked as surplus to requirements, and the ship was offered for sale to the [[Royal Australian Navy]] in July 1981 as a replacement for the ageing aircraft carrier {{HMAS|Melbourne|R21|6}}.<ref>{{cite book |last=Wright |first=Anthony |title=Australian Carrier Decisions: the acquisition of HMA Ships Albatross, Sydney and Melbourne |orig-year=1978 |series=Papers in Australian Maritime Affairs (No. 4) |date=June 1998 |publisher=Sea Power Centre |location=Canberra |isbn=0-642-29503-4 |oclc=39641731 |issn=1327-5658 |page=167}}</ref> The class had previously been considered and discarded as a potential replacement for the Australian ship, but the low [[Pound sterling|£]]175&nbsp;million ([[Australian dollar|A$]]285&nbsp;million) offer price and the already-constructed state of the vessel prompted the Australian government to announce in February 1982 their intention to accept the British offer.<ref name=Stevens227>{{cite book |author=Stevens, David |author2=Sears, Jason |author3=Goldrick, James |author4=Cooper, Alastair |author5=Jones, Peter |author6= Spurling, Kathryn  |editor=Stevens, David |title=The Royal Australian Navy |series=The Australian Centenary History of Defence (vol III) |year=2001 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=South Melbourne, VIC |isbn=0-19-554116-2 |oclc=50418095 |page=227}}</ref> In Australian service, the ship would have been named HMAS ''Australia'', and would operate as a helicopter carrier until a later decision on the acquisition of Sea Harriers was made.<ref name=Hobbs9>{{cite journal |last=Hobbs |first=Commander David |date=October 2007 |title=HMAS ''Melbourne'' (II) – 25 Years On |journal=The Navy |volume=69 |issue=4 |page=9 |issn=1322-6231}}</ref> ''Invincible''{{'}}s service during the Falklands War showed that the White Paper's suggested reductions were flawed and both nations withdrew from the deal in July 1982.<ref name=Stevens227/>