[A.A. Cunningham]

when they have the tri- service Raptor aircraft in final testing which has VTOL technology built in?

The Raptor, F-22, is USAF only. Too fragile to operate from a carrier and no V/STOL capability. You've confused the Raptor with the JSF, only one model of which, F-35B, has S/VTOL capability.

Such an aircraft would make those long flight decks virtually obsolete while shrinking the size of the carrier and increasing it's aircraft carrying capacity.

You don't know much about carrier ops or what happens to usable payload when operating in VTO mode. Also, a shorter flight deck means a smaller boat. A smaller boat means fewer aircraft, not more.

[finnigan2]

" You've confused the Raptor with the JSF, only one model of which, F-35B, has S/VTOL capability."

- The F-35B is a Raptor with a modification to it's engine which adds a vertical turbine to permit the downward deflection of exhaust that gives it VTOL capability. The Marine Corp wants this model to replace the Harrier. All Services will use the Raptor, modified in some way or other to suit their particular needs while reducing the overall costs of production, since most build requirements and spare parts can be standardized. As with the Harrier, a VTOL Raptor works best with a very short ramp built into the ship to allow it to take off without using the extra fuel that would be needed if it had to rise vertically.
Basically there would be no need for a flight deck at all, as the ship could be crammed from bow to stern with aircraft in a storage area one deck below and brought up, in sequence, to the ramp for take off at the bow. Retrieval would be by an elevator at the stern.
Storage of aircraft would then be out of the weather and maintenance could be carried out without moving the aircraft below, as is now the case.
This sounds like a plan to me, but I think the Navy is fixated on a WW11 configuration.