Originally Posted by
Buster15
...At least with Typhoon, we have an aircraft that has excellent flying capability. Yes it may not be 5th Generation, but the basic platform is capable end flexible; it could (relatively) easily and most likely at a significantly lower cost be made carrier capable...
With that one statement, you have managed to destroy the credibility of anything else you say. I suspect you believe the F-35B's characteristics are inferior to the Harrier's, too.
Notwithstanding the fact that the carriers would need extensive (and expensive) modification to accommodate CTOL aircraft, beefing up the airframe and undercarriage of the Typhoon (first flown in March 1994) and incorporating more robust materials to withstand the repeated stresses and strains of violent catapult launch, sudden arrested recovery on a pitching deck and prolonged survival in a salt-laden marine environment, not to mention the addition of an arrestor hook and other intrinsic systems, would involve so much extra design, development and production work and result in so much weight gain and reduced performance that you might as well start from scratch.