Quote from MSOCS:
"The 2010 SDSR sought to procure F-35C not B, which had been the choice, on balance, since the late 1990s."
Thanks for the reminder.
"It is right that JSF's design has been heavily influenced by the STOVL requirement but remember that the USMC also lobbyed strongly for this trait."
Okay, I'll have to inform myself on whether the US are building any carriers without "cats and traps", that will be unusable by conventional fixed-wing a/c in a contingency.
"I personally have found no end of situations where STOVL has come into its own on the tactical battlefield. "
Not trying to dispute that, but the concept of lugging an engine around for most of the mission in-lieu of the equivalent payload.