F-35 Cancelled, then what ?
If the oncoming defence cuts do bin the F-35 ( and having seen a few details, I think it IS worth the high price, thing is can we afford it, full stop ), people are talking about F-18's or Rafales...
Am I the only one here who thinks it blindingly obvious to go for the Harrier II+ ?
I know the production line is closed, so aircraft and spares would have to be secondhand from the U.S.
Unless the Americans sulked over not buying the F-35, it would be in their interests to keep the UK a serious asset.
It has AMRAAM with a BVR capablity to defend the fleet, the' big engine' and shares huge commonality with the GR9's of the RAF.
Also no modification to the CVF's would be required; even though the carriers are being built so as to make conversion to 'cat'n trap' relatively easy, no-one can tell me it's that easy or cheap, I've always thought that a feature to make them easy to sell to other navies.
Remember Thatcher was keen to sell HMS Invicible, which as things turned out proved rather handy to the RN !
I know the radar isn't as good as the FA2's Blue Vixen, but AMRAAMS can partly look after themselves, and it's a very potent deterrent.
If the axe should fall on the F-35, how about Harrier II+ ?