the main advantage is that the Typhoon is available, proven and in service
Not the Naval Version, which is not available proven or in service at all. don't forget that the Typhoon had plenty of trials and tribulations getting into service itself.
may never be in service
its technically in service with the american marines who have 7 of them so far, and IIRC IOC has been announced for 2015 and 2016. As LO pointed out its too big to fail. even the UK has an F-35 or 2 already.
Its going to be in service, it just a matter of what numbers. whether you love or loath this aircraft the window for cancellation has passed. as spazinbad pointed out they are starting to get a solid feel for the cost, which is far more affordable than canceling and starting anew. they aren't going to quit 2 years from the finish line with the price firming up, after investing the kind of time and money they have already with the promise of a monopoly ahead.
We can debate about whether it is worth it or not until the cows come home, but its not going to canceled. I'm amazed that point still has to be clarified still.
And no one has shown any interest in a navalized typhoon. even if they did, the UK can only convert one aircraft carrier to conventional ops, and at greater expense (remember why they went back to the B from the F-35C?). as long as the F-35 is the cheaper alternative (and compared to a typhoon it is) JSF is not going anywhere:
UKIP estimates suggest it would cost £1.4bn to develop a naval typhoon, with unit costs of around £80m.
In a statement the party said that the development costs would be similar to the cost of converting the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers to use the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) to be used with the F-35C. A naval Typhoon would take off from a 'ski jump' deck.
So 2.8 billion pounds in development and carrier conversion alone? then 80 million per aircraft? how many aircraft would you even buy for one carrier at that cost? never going to happen.
Doesn't need cat and trap
in the brochure you show, under "landing performance" it says
Carrier needs to be fitted with a standard arrestor wire
system
