Posted on 11/09/2008 2:10:26 PM PST by decimon
The F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) is slated to become the backbone of the U.S. tactical aviation fleet. This ambitious program aims to replace the combined U.S. Defense Department arsenal of F-16 Fighting Falcons, F/A-18 Hornets, A-10 Thunderbolts, and the AV-8B Harrier combat aircraft with a single platform capable of being adapted to the divergent needs of the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Navy, and the U.S. Marine Corps.
The new fighter will not only replace those rapidly aging aircraft in the colossal American inventory, but the jet is also expected to become the mainstay of Allied air forces in Great Britain, Australia, and a host of other nations.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
In sum, the article is positive for the F-35.
Now that the environmentalists have taken over, we could make serious money investing in e85 and fry grease powered fighter jet technologies. Something tells me this is where our defense dollars will be going.
The F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter seems to have even more detractors than other aircraft projects have had in the past.
Gliders!
“While supersonically the F-35 is limited to a seemingly unimpressive Mach 1.6 in level flight, Davis explains that the JSF is optimized for exceptional subsonic to supersonic acceleration. Transonic acceleration is much more relevant to a fighter pilot than the absolute max speed of the jet”
Unless if it is a scramble situation, where you are racing to intercept a threat. Something both the F-15 and F-14 had the ability to do.
I am not a fan of the JSF program, as it doesn’t do any job particularly well. It can’t replace the intercept abilities of fighters designed in the 60’s. It’s ability to do CAS (close air-support) is a joke compared to the A-10, which had better firepower and was very rugged. It’s ordnance load is unimpressive as well, (you’ll need to put up 2-3 in the air for each mission to do what the F-15 could do and these are nearly twice as expensive for each)
I could settle for the F-35 replacing the F/A-18 and the AV8 (Harrier) and maybe even the F-16. But no way does this expensive boondoggle replace the A-10 & F-15. While the airframes of the F-15 and F/A-18 are clearly aging and in need of replacement, this is not it.
Maybe. I recall stories of VC being able to toss things into the air to cause the F-111 to automatically perform loop-de-loops or some such.
More shades of the F-111. McNamara took many hits on this.
Oh yeah they really lambasted the F111, and then the F18.
For some really hot airplanes that never were, look at all the fighters that were to be developed using the Pratt 4360 radial engine, but got canceled because of the wars end and the jet-engine.
IIRC, the F-111 was meant for all services but the Navy refused it and the Air Force found but specialized roles for it.
The Aussies sure liked it too.
I predict that you are right: the F35 will not really replace the F15E or the A10 -- and any statement that says otherwise is just marketing BS. What will happen is the the F35 buy will be strung out over so many years that it will first replace the AV8B, then the F/A-18 (A thru C), then the early Block F16's. By the time they get to the Mud Hens & the Warthogs (airframes that are in relatively good shape) somebody will be pitching another aircraft to replace those. My 2 cents.
That was mostly for the range, no? My knowledge here is obviously limited.
The F-35 is not meant to replace either the A-10 or F-15. It is intended to replace the F-16 and AV-8B — which it will do, admirably.
The F-15 and F-16 were invaluable during World War III — the long, twilight struggle with the USSR. But the global threat situation is different today. A Cold War sledgehammer like the F-15 is no longer needed to hammer huge masses of inferior Soviet iron out of the skies, nor can we count on a global network of friendly airbases with which to support such fuel-hungry birds. In a world where we are likely to be fighting against smaller forces fielded by near-peers in skies far from home, we need precise, fast, long-range weapons that will leverage our technology to enable us to kill more Bad Guys with fewer airplanes. The two aircraft that will perform this role are the the F-22 Raptor (in the long-range strike/air dominance role) and the F-35 Lightning II (in the medium-range air defense/precise CAS/sea control role).
Neither aircraft is perfect. No aircraft ever is. But in the hands of our skilled pilots these two aircraft will be able to do everything in combat that their predecessors could do, plus other things no Eagle or Falcon ever could have — like hacking into and taking over enemy air defense networks, missile guidance systems, and even enemy aircraft in flight. They will also provide a “bridge” between the manned air forces of the Cold War United States and the mostly-unmanned 21st Century force.
I’m no expert, but based on everything I’ve read and seen I am confident that the F-35 Lightning II will more than fulfill its role in future conflicts.
Range and payload
We need more F-22s!
You should post a pic
this thread is useless without photos
(Just had to say it!)
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