Diddums,
The carriers didn’t get SAM because the RN insisted that was why they needed the T45s.
The RN got the carriers and the F-35s because they said they didn’t need AAR, which requires CTOL.
The RN got the RAF Merlins because they said they’d fit on their ships.
The concentration of almost all the rest of RN into one CTG was forecast when they asked for the carriers and it was pointed out that would be the inevitable result within their forecast budget. Which also accounts for points 5, 6 and 8......
Last edited by ORAC; 28th May 2020 at 11:33.