Meteor needs a big bay unless MBDA can make a smaller version. As for having to carry everything externally then it depends The difference between weapon bays is not as significant as people make out and it is not the difference between carrying externally or internally in a high threat environment. That is a red herring. It depends on your mission and the weapons you have that DO fit. The analysis is there for the missions, in depth. The original requirement for a FCBA capable of operating from a CVF and doing the desired missions is there and was (and still is) fulfilled by -B. The RN solution for AEW has been MASC for years now. The enemy of requirements is creep and the thought that there is always something better (which there usually is) but succumbing to temptation delays and costs more. The -C, in a perfect world, would be joined onboard our 2 (why not 6?!) UK EMALS-equipped CVF by E-2D with on-call tankers etc. Now if you swallow the red pill the reality is much different and we can't afford the comprehensive solution so we get what we originally bid for; 2 ramped decks and the -B. The aircraft being cancelled? There would be re-think for sure and I'd wager the carriers would be sold, we'd abandon the notion of carrier strike (no CS now in its 3rd year, purists argue longer) and the UK would buy the -A!
