Source: Australian Department of Defence
Source: Australian Department of Defence
Same problem with the Harrier. Loiter time was minimal because the vertical take off gear was heavy and bulky. Only way to resolve that problem (20 minute loiter time) would have been if they had made the fighter much bigger. Even then, the conventional version would still have had an advantage, assuming they shared more or less the same airframe.
That ship does not look proportioned correctly. Rides high in the water and could turn turtle easily! Probably just me.
And yet for all of it’s inferiority, the Royal Navy has switched back to F-35Bs, because it was going to be too expensive to convert their carrier to CATOBAR.
Likewise, if Australia wants to use their LHD as a carrier, their only choice is the F-35B.