Dirty B
Do you know what the procurement and through life costs of Dave-B are compared to that of Typhoon?
Well, why compare it with Typhoon? I'm talking about carrier aircraft alternatives, Dave-C.
In any case, isn't it a little too early in the project lifecycle for anyone to say what the procurement and life cycle cost are
really going to be?
And that's just thinking about the cost of the aircraft. If we adopt the view that in order to justify developing Dave-B we have had to buy a couple of STOVL carriers, we add in another big chunk of change.
I'd like to see an analysis of the cost of fully automating Dave-C CAT/TRAP landings. If it's possible, and cheaper than developing Dave-B it becomes a no-brainer right? More capability, without the need to wear out the airframes practicing the basics of carrier recovery.