The Royal Navy wanted an air-defense aircraft, while the RAF requirement pointed toward a bomb-carrying close-support platform. At the time, the Navy expected to retain CATOBAR carriers for decades and therefore judged the Phantom against a carrier system offering the strongest technical performance. Ministers nevertheless kept demanding a joint Navy-RAF V/STOL aircraft, even though the services' payload, basing, and recovery needs pointed toward different airframes. CATOBAR can offer the strongest technical performance while remaining unaffordable or unsustainable for a particular navy.
Notable Point · 9:32-11:24
Naval air defense and RAF strike requirements conflicted
The joint P.1154 failed to satisfy either a naval fleet fighter requirement or the RAF's close-support and strike priorities.