N-a-B...
Dave-B is wobbly. One attempt to get it into the USAF in STOL guise has failed, and the big-deck Navy has been fulminating at the idea of mixing B, C and Super H on the carriers. The Marines are speaking in defense of B and trying to fight the Navy's attempt to get them to buy more Cs. The UK can't be permitted to bail on STOVL at this point, because it sets off a cascade effect in which the Gyrenes are the only significant customer and the B's price tag goes exoatmospheric.
But at the same time, the CVFs are sunk if STOVL goes away. Seaphoon or Super Hornet are no longer options, because - under financial pressure - CVF has been sold as low-risk. How do you now go to Treasury and say "We just found out STOVL doesn't work - we're switching to cat-arrest and an entirely new air wing?" Treasury will pull the plug in a femtosecond.
Last edited by LowObservable; 18th May 2007 at 20:15.