Originally Posted by
BEagle
F-35C also carries more fuel than the -A model - and the tailhook would be quite useful if landing on some contaminated short RW somewhere north of Buttfuk-middle-of-nowhere-Saskatchewan?
F-35A (along with other USAF fighters like F-15, F-16, F-117, F-22) have tail hooks for that very reason (indeed even Typhoon has a tail hook). They just aren't rated for the loads imposed by an arrested carrier landing.