Naval jets are expected to appear by the 1950s in this scenario, possibly slightly earlier than in the historical wartime sequence. Wartime research spending shifts toward improving and implementing technology already developed. A factory committed to delivering thousands of an existing aircraft also has little freedom to stop and retool for a new type. Smaller peacetime batches remove some of that pressure, leaving more opportunity to develop and introduce a different aircraft.
Chapter · 25:12-26:16
Smaller aircraft batches could bring naval jets earlier
Peacetime research and smaller production batches could let naval jets appear earlier than under wartime manufacturing pressure.