Jacko, your comments seem to confirm my belief that the F35 would ultimately be a waste of money. It will offer us absolutely nothing over and above the Typhoon's cabablities, other than a vtol capability that we haven't needed for over a decade. As I keep saying, one can only assume that the MoD accountants will inevitably conclude that when we're already virtually obliged to buy more Typhoons, we may as well "navalise" them and dump the F35.
If we don't do something with the final batch of Typhoons, what will we do with them? We can't really afford to cancel them, and based on the current orders of battle, we'd have surplus aircraft. Unless they were placed in storage, it seems only logical that they would be better used for naval operations, and allow the cost of the F35 programme to be abandoned.
Griffin, I think you're rather underestimating just how close British and American air arms actually are, and have been for half a century. It's not just about supporting each other or taking part in campaigns, the relationship is much deeper and complicated than that.