Moot unless the UCAVs can do the fleet defense, tactical recon, and FAC-A missions the way the navy wants them done. The f-35 sure can’t.

What If:
Tomcat had been fitted with TF-41? Spey began in early 60s and so I believe did TF30 so would this have been possible?

Yes. In fact, an afterburning TF41 spey would have had a bit more thrust than the TF30. I don’t think much would have changed really because the first engine was supposed to be a bridge to the PW F100 or GE F110.

USN had dumped Phoenix when F111B died and gone with an Active or Passive Sparrow (for multiple simultaneous engagements) sacrificing range for lighter weight? Would F14 have been a much lighter, cheaper more exportable warplane?

Maybe, but not by much unless they were to decide to base it around the PW1120 instead of the larger diameter engines. Imagine a twin-seat Eagle with VG wings.

The all weather two seat A10 had made it through to operational service? Would it have found export success? Would USAF Generals have still been so anti the hog?

Not unless the twin seats would have enabled it to go mach 2 They hated it because it flies low and slow and doesn’t support a nuclear strike mission. The relationship between the USAF and CAS is a lot like that between the RAF and the FAA. The USAF despises CAS but doesn’t want the Army to have a fixed wing arm. They have tried to can it many times, but each time the Army offers to take over the mission.

What if China bought the Harrier in 1979?

They’d be selling cheap unauthorized copies.

What if there was no export ban on China in 1989 and China became buddies with French aviation industry?

That kinda happened anyway.

What if Iran bought F-15s instead of F-14s?

Same story, different plane.

What if France replaced the Mirage IV with something like a big twin engine Mirage F-1?

Mirage 4000 is more likely. What would have happened? Not much. Rafale was designed to split the difference in size.

Yeah. From a technical standpoint, that’s very much salvageable, but considering they plan on cutting their numbers anyway she’ll never fly again.

HAL’s Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) which also was displayed in mockup form

Looks like they took one of Bell’s ranger series and stuck it in a photocopier.

I think Ka-226 is way too small for the Mistral class of ships. Even the Ka-62 is not big enough.

Depends on the role.

4-6 fighters on each LHD or LHA for how many billions, surely the maximum the USMC can need with 11 LHDs and LHAs of the F35Bs is say 100. Allowing for the present 8 squadrons and an attrition reserve. The initial headline order figure was for 480 that included replacing all the USMC legacy F18s, as we know the B cannot operate off a CVN so the stupid question is how is the USMC going to get the rest of its fleet of F35Bs to somewhere that they can provide CAS?

If the F-35B can’t, the corps is going to be given the choice of a split buy or handing over some of its aviation budget to its slightly more equal sister service. Marine CAS deployments are not the major focus of the Department of the Navy, carriers are.

You broke the code 😀
F-35B operations from Gators never made sense since the Gators’ number 1 priority in the initial phase is resupply of Marines ashore using helos and V-22s. There simply isn’t enough deck space for Bs and vertrep operations. “Kick the door” air support during initial littoral ops will come from the CVNs and USAF, not Gator-based Bs.

The logical method for Marine B operations is to etablish secure FOLs (it will take several days to do this), then fly the Bs in from nearby land bases where they were staged. Even then, high sortie rates are tough to achieve at a FOL due to logistics requirement of fuel, munitions, spare parts, support equipment and maintenance personnel.

I thought the Bs based on a Gator was a stupid idea in 1994 and nothing has changed my mind.

The initial thought was to put a harrier squadron on each deployed carrier, but they finally settled on small detachment on amphibs to get them closer to the ground marines.

I hope they did’t spend more than a day on that and just modified some testors kits. From the model it looks like their plan is to minimally modify the typhoon and rely on thrust vectoring to slow it down. Navy considered that approach and didn’t think it would work.