Great thread indeed.
My green shirts would have agreed with your division's views in heartbeat, Orca!
I think PDR's point about numbers (I would FA2s in there for completeness)
But perhaps the REAL test should be comparing one F35 with the >10 GR9s that you could field for the same money...
is very poignant, and in a world of ever increasing costs it is easily missed, by politicians' starry eyes and others.