Taxydual
I believe that Easy Street was reffering to the fact that being as high and as fast as you can get your platform affords AMRAAM longer legs. Get high, get fast and shoot first...
Absolutely. I am stunned at the lack of understanding that some display on here! Modern MRAAMs gain quantum leaps in performance with increased launch altitude, irrespective of the altitude of the target.
And it's not just a question of air-to-air "biggest stick" jousting, either. To defeat incoming anti-ship raids against the carrier group, the air defenders need to be as fast as possible (to reach the attackers before they get into missile range) and and high as possible (to be able to launch their AMRAAM / Meteor / whatever at the maximum range). Harrier II+ is an air-to-ground platform with an "aggressive self-defence" AMRAAM capability, whereas F/A-18 E/F are fully-fledged multi-role platforms.
Another huge advantage of choosing a CV-type aircraft (F35C or F/A 18) would be that you could embark US Navy air wings for training purposes at times when the UK air wings were otherwise occupied. Limiting ourselves to STOVL would restrict visitor options to the USMC or the other Harrier operators.