Lets face it, Merlin was always a likely contender for MASC. Could the addition of stub wings have that much of an effect on service ceiling?
N_a_b I assume you are talking about the E2 Hawkeye. But what about Osprey? Obviously if we had to pay all the development costs ourselves it would be expensive, but if we could share them with say the USMC........
Getting back onto the main topic of this thread, the carriers themselves, it occurs to me that if CVF is cancelled or bodged then that will probably be the end of major warship construction in the UK.