Royalistflyer: So I repeat, why not cut our losses, fit arrestors and buy Rafale?
I do think that time has well past unless the F-35B is somehow cut or fails. The debate has raged for years, and there were a few flip flops, but things have been firmly settled to proceed with STOVL. The costs of the arresting gear are only part of the mix: increased training requirements, less capable 4th generation aircraft, the inherit limitations/dangers of the ski jump and conventional aircraft (follow the Russian Carrier thread)....
Out of curiosity, why the leap to Rafale over Super Hornet? I imagine the Super Hornet could do the ski-jump (earlier Hornets were trialed), and comes in several flavors, the single seat E, twin seat F and with the jamming version the G. I would think a few G's would be nice to have IF the QE had a conventional air wing.