oldnotbold -
I have long held that Dave-B is a bl**dy silly compromise as a design, mostly because the ConOps are a nonsense: when will the US national interest demand that the USMC go ashore facing an opponent with double-digit SAM & IADS cued evolved Super FLANKERs when the USN can't be arsed to turn up with a CVNBG?
For any of these MEU/MAGTAF only ops, I find it hard to understand what the USMC needs other than a Harrier II+ with SNIPER and Rover IV.
As a result, if UK plc remains in the CVF game, the sooner we move to CATOBAR configuration and Dave-C, the better. If the USN cancels Dave-C, we can always go back to F-18E/F/G, but the timescales for a purchase (2019/20) are such that we have the luxury of a little bit of time. As ever in these things, the UK's lack of finance to meet its ambitions means that we must maximise bang-for-procurement-buck - and that means avoiding buying Mk 1 anything if at all possible.
S41