I'm not sure to understand it all, but maybe from a more european point of view, the agility is important...
I mean that at the very begining of the Eurofighter program, GB was looking for an aircraft mainly to replace Jaguars and Tornados, but for the cooperation to take place, other requirements were considered. Of course, the Typhoon may look a bit above want GB really needed, but, then, as LowObservable said :
Northrop first formulated in the late 60s, early 70s, to wit:
(1) You can change an agile jet into a bomber by loading it with bombs and fuel, reducing its thrust/weight ratio and increasing its wing loading and range.
This led on to a win-win situation, were the final aircraft isn't simply the expected replacer but also an agile aircraft.
Add to this the fact that some of the european partners are willing to create a more independant (non US relying) defense, at a european scale...
No more need for an external air dominance aircraft... Everything is in our forces.
Am I wrong ?
