Thank you Greenknight for that reply but would we not expect some type of demonstration to see if the aircraft is fit for the very basic role that is required?
Hindsight is always a useless talent but all our armchair critics seem to have this talent in abundance, however when I want to buy an aircraft to replace the F-18 then I would want to make sure the thing can at the very least take off and land on the deck of a carrier.
I assume that US Naval air stations have arrester wire capability where this could demonstrated?
I must repeat that I am a fan of the F-35 and still hope it arrives on time to join our only carrier capable of operating it.