Interesting story. The big problem is lack of USG support.
The notion that the SH costs $70m with "targeting pods and other equipment that is standard on the F-35" is bosh. The only such equipment is the pod and that doesn't cost $19m. Fact is that the SH is far cheaper than the F-35A and half the price of the F-35C, which still hasn't landed on the carrier and because of its lame transonic acceleration is basically a bomber.
That's why LMT and the JSF true believers are desperate to shut down the SH, and why the Navy is not allowed to commit to the Advanced SH improvements and upgrades even though they are completely logical - with delays to JSF, the SH and Growler will be around to 2040. Those upgrades will happen but the JSF community wants the production line closed before they do.
On paper, however, USG policy is that no upgrades are funded and the production line is to close, which makes brand-new SHs hard to sell.