Oh Stuffy I know the Rafale has a naval variant why do you think I said the time for Seaphoon was when the French wanted to add it to the Eurofighter requirements. The fact is that yet again UK decision makers were shortsighted and opted to save cash today to blow truckloads of cash years later is just a typical fact of shortsighted UK defence procurement. Personally I'd get procurement well away from politicans its's always far too short term.
Trying to bodge those requirements back into the aircraft now is a non starter, a fancy vapour ware presentation does not an aircraft make.
Seaphoon was a) a political attempt by the UK government to influence the USA on certain F35 technologies (a negotiating tactic in effect, which worked btw) and b) desperate BAE marketing gimick to try and influence the Indian MMRC competition (ignoring the fact India had already bought a bunch of MIG29 carrier borne aircraft and are currently building an indigenous jet the Tejas).
Look at all the developmental problems we've had with the F35 are you really suggesting that we do do it all over again? The time to can F35 and do something else was probably 6 years ago when we still had time to spec an alternative.
Last edited by eaglemmoomin; 28th Mar 2013 at 21:30.