Engines,
Thank you for your insight - informative as ever.
There was bit more involvement than you list there. We did quite a bit of evaluation work in the early days on behalf of the US, but that was more operational effectiveness than engineering. The first time round was very generic, concept stuff and we didn't get into differences between models until later.
As for the gun, even with the weight penalty, I wouldn't argue with the choice of the Gatling. For air-to-air the rate of fire makes it very effective and gives the pilot plenty of chances to hit the target in a vital organ. The chosen calibre offers greater punch for other uses too, if one wants to put an expensive aircraft in an environment where its stealth won't protect it from small arms fire.
The main thing I'd like to see recognised one day is the great work done by knowledgable and committed service engineers and aircrew (and BAES engineers) who kept the US/UK lines open through the late 80s and early to mid 90s. their unsung work is the reason the UK was able to get its special 'Tier 1' partner status on JSF. Some of them should have got gongs. Most of them didn't.
Although I don't know about their entitlement to "gongs", I second your proposal. Recognition is well deserved and long overdue.
Best,
Courtney