Why British CATOBAR carriers would probably use F-18s

A three-carrier counterfactual concludes that Britain would probably buy an F-18 variant because navalizing Typhoon would require Britain to finance and redesign an airframe unsuited to carrier landings.

Question

What aircraft would equip three British CATOBAR carriers built in the early 2000s?

Short answer

Probably an F-18 variant, because Britain would otherwise fund a carrier-specific Typhoon whose airframe was not well arranged for arrested landings.

Notes

The scenario gives Britain three 70,000-ton CATOBAR carriers in the early 2000s. Their air groups would probably center on an F-18 variant rather than a naval Eurofighter Typhoon. Other European partners would have little need for a carrier version, leaving Britain to bear the development cost alone. Typhoon's basic airframe arrangement is also poorly suited to the loads and geometry of arrested carrier landings, so navalization would amount to designing a substantially different aircraft.