Originally Posted by
sandiego89
Right on Ken. The price jump from STOVL to full Cat and Trap is eye watering- and it's not just the "cats and trap"- a new E-2D makes the F-35 look cheap. When you figure in an air wing of several types, increased training (carrier quals) and the infrastructure, it becomes unaffordable pretty quickly.
Pilot carrier quals for F-35 is already gone, and its going away for Super Hornet (Magic Carpet). It'll take a long while for it to go away for the E-2. Gotta love automation.