Why the Queen Elizabeth class adopted STOVL

Was the Royal Navy determined from the outset to use STOVL aircraft on the Queen Elizabeth-class carriers?

STOVL was the politically achievable choice because it aligned Royal Navy carrier plans with RAF aircraft needs and reduced the risk of losing the program in an inter-service funding battle.

STOVL is treated as the politically attainable route to the Queen Elizabeth-class carriers because it supported the RAF's case for retaining two combat-aircraft types. The F-35B could succeed the Harrier and gave the RAF a second aircraft type whose useful service life would overlap differently with its other fleet. A naval F-35C purchase risked either supporting two small F-35 variants or forcing the RAF to justify a conventional aircraft as a Harrier replacement. Catapult carriers would also encourage Hawkeye procurement and a further argument over the RAF's airborne early-warning fleet. Conventional F-35C operations are preferred for the Royal Navy on operational grounds, but another inter-service and Treasury dispute could have ended with no carriers. The resulting STOVL force is described as an 85-percent solution. Possessing large carriers also changes the starting point for later funding arguments: further improvements can build on a capability already in service.