Originally Posted by
Asturias56
"training requirements that are not really compatible with the concept of a joint RN/RAF Lightning Force" - Uh? The RAF doesn't need vertical landing WEBF - they use runways - remember?
And yet I spent part of my career on an RAF base with 4 sqns, all capable of VTOL, especially the L. At the time, the loss of long straight hard bits was a credible possibility and the ability to deploy and use short bits of road or even steel has considered useful.