An evolved Super Tomcat could have offered better outer air defense than the Super Hornet, but it would not have been equally cheap to operate. Under a fixed naval budget, those costs might have required fewer carriers, fewer aircraft per air wing, or reduced flying and training time. The counterfactual therefore cannot compare aircraft performance alone. It must ask whether the fleet could sustain enough aircraft, crews, readiness, and deployed decks to make the specialist advantage usable.
Notable Point · 53:40-54:31
A Super Tomcat would impose fleet-wide opportunity costs
A stronger specialist air-defense fighter might have forced reductions in carrier numbers, air-wing strength, or flight hours if budgets did not rise with its operating costs.