Just to make things more interesting, the new Selective Acquisition Report makes it very clear that the best-case cost of the F-35B at full rate is a cool $21m more than the F-35C.
That's a full procurement price - flyaway plus everything that goes with flyaway, like initial spares and ground equipment - and in 2012 dollars, for 2020 delivery.
So if the UK was to buy 50 Dave-Cs vs Bs, the $1-billion saved would convert the second carrier, if NaB's numbers are right.
The actual 2020-delivery average procurement cost for the F-35C is $117m and the F-35B is $138m. The equivalent price for the Super Hornet is $80 million.
Oh, and the A model costs 42 per cent more per flight hour than the USAF spent flying F-16C/Ds in 2011. Want to hazard a guess for the F-35B, with all the extra moving parts?