(rant follows)
We should simply have gone for the CTOL version of the carriers, with
leased F-18s (or rafaeles!) with a view to replacing those with bought F-35s as and when (if?) they ever materialised, IMHO. Those conventional plane types are perfectly serviceable for the immediate future.
And of course the catapult equipped version would have operated
hawkeyes. Probably
the most important plane type to have at sea!. Stuff the fighter mafia - the AEW capability is priceless.
We should
never have bought into the F-35 programme early-on, especially with the reluctance of the USA to release key code so we can integrate our own weapons etc. Let the US contractors fix the bugs first and carry the development costs.
As for the jump-jet version, and the Tories scrapping the harriers and the Invincibles well before there was a replacement to hand - the less said the better!
Too many politicians poking their fingers into the carrier and plane projects...
MOD - likely stands for "Made Of Dumbness"
cheers
Andy