Re: Eurofighter
it would been interesting to see how it stacked up against F35 in the naval role
Typhoon was designed as an air superiority fighter, not a strike aircraft. So the airframe and configuration isn't optimal for low level manoeuvring with heavy wing loads that a naval strike aircraft should be good at, the avionics aren't ideal for launching large stand-off weaponry, and there would be a lot of work to make it cat'n'trap compatible. We'd end up with something very much heavier than the original Typhoon, and a compromise in terms of capability.
I'd guess that a carrier Typhoon variant would be a better dogfighter* than the F35, but less good as a strike aircraft. If the UK wanted an alternative to the F35, they should have just bought a Rafale-M off the shelf. To an extent some of the airframe compromises of a naval Typhoon, but already developed and in service, albeit not the newest design. In fact, all along they should have bought Rafale-M, and never indulged themselves with the pick'n'mix F35.
* Dogfighting: Very important to military aircraft buyers, but of little relevance in modern warfare.
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