A catapult-equipped carrier with F-35Cs and Hawkeyes might appear stronger in isolation, but it would directly threaten RAF Typhoon, Wedgetail, and future-aircraft programs. Navy-Air Force cooperation helped both services make their procurement case, whereas choosing a carrier architecture that provoked a direct interservice budget fight could have endangered the carriers themselves. A technically superior option can fail if it destroys the coalition needed to fund it. The design must therefore be read in its political as well as technical setting.
Notable Point · 41:39-47:01
The interservice politics behind the Queen Elizabeth carriers
STOVL carriers and the F-35 choice reflected the need to build an affordable political coalition across British defense institutions.