PIious,
The "should have" arguments are a bit moot now. Engine's A/B mix would have been a good one too. But we are here now and there is no going back, as we have discussed in the last X pages (where X is a large number).
I'm not quite sure that the F-18 is quite what the RAF needs as a Tornado replacement. As I have opined before, I suspect there may be measures ahead that makes Typhoon the Tornado replacement - sooner than we all may have liked. With B and Typhoon on line, there won't be an RAF market for Super Bug. Sorry about that.
P.S. Maybe there's a future for you as a second hand car salesman.
P.P.S. Glad Rag, I like the way you're thinking. An inquiry would fix everything.