>If instead the military developed 2 variants (carrier-borne and land-based), scrapped the STOVL requirement, and perhaps scrapped the low-observable requiremen

>If instead the military developed 2 variants (carrier-borne and land-based), scrapped the STOVL requirement, and perhaps scrapped the low-observable requirement, they could... ...have just added thrust vectoring to the F-16 and prayed for peace.