Carrier ops is not my field, so the article raises a few questions that I hope some here might be able to clarify for me.
My first is about the statement
The F-35C is designed with more stealth capability, Gresham said, and that means more maintenance hours between missions. The fact the plane will be living "out in salt water 24/7 for most of its life" will also mean longer maintenance times unique to that version.
I can see haw the C model spending its life at sea will incur a maintenance penalty, but if you ditch the C and keep the Bs at sea for their whole life instead, why does the same not apply to them? Or does he mean they won't keep the Bs embarked, in which case surely that's a reduction in capability/readiness?
Second one,
Gresham says he is an advocate of the F-35, but believes the Navy can have a completely capable version by modifying the B-model that is now being tested by the Marine Corps.
Do the differences in range and payload between the two models really make the B as useful (capable, in his words) as the C? I also have to ask, 'what modifications' and would that mean all the B models have a changed design (would that suit the RN, for example) or would we then be talking about two standards of the B model?
Maybe too many questions for one post, but just pick the one(s) you want to comment on.