Navaleye,
Well, at least one of Mr. B's suggestions is misleading: he implies - implying very careful scripting - that Dave-B carries everything that the other variants can, performs as they do, and adds STOVL as well. Except that it isn't as capable as the other variants, with reduced payload / range and (IIRC) a limited choice of weapons because the internal bays are smaller.
But it looks cool hovering.....
My problem with Dave-B for the US or the UK is that it is more expensive and less capable than Dave-C, so it is hard to understand why you would want to pay more for less, unless you really thought that you needed stealth vs Gen 4++ air threat and late double-digit SAM threat and wouldn't send a CVN. Forgive me, the CONOPS are nonsensical. And with the programme in as much financial trouble as it is, it is surely sensible to reduce risk and cost by binning the more expensive and most complex variant.
Bottom line for me is that a MAGTAF on its own is unlikely to get itself into a situation where it needs a 5th gen aircraft and a CVN isn't going to be made available.
For the RN, buying the -B is a great way to blunt the power projection potential of the CVFs (if they aren't cancelled). If CVF is worth doing (see 120 pages here:
http://www.pprune.org/military-aircr...rrier-120.html) then it is surely worth doing properly, with cats, traps, and fixed wing AEW, COD and the attendant training burden. If it's not worth doing properly, let's not bother.
S41