Originally Posted by
melmothtw
Who was the F-4 ever sold to?
Completely out of context! The F-4 was designed and built as a carrier based aircraft for the US Navy, SPECIFICALLY, it just happened that it was so good that it was a no brainer for many land based air forces too. The Tempest is a design concept for the RAF only, why go to all the expense of making it carrier capable from the start when there is no (current, or, as yet, future) requirement from the FAA, or any guarantee that you will sell a single one of any future version to any other Naval air arm?
-RP