You're certainly not going to land that on a 40,000 ton carrier! (see thread) The F-14 has swing wings precisely because to solve the dilema of how to land a Mach 2+ Interceptor on a (super) carrier deck. Ever wonder why the F-15 doesn't have swing wings? The payoff isn't worth the weight penalty.
Give me the range/loiter capability and I'll have the follow-on to the F-14. I don't think we need the speed. There aren't that many Backfire bombers around anymore.
Give me the range/loiter capability and I'll have the follow-on to the F-14. I don't think we need the speed. There aren't that many Backfire bombers around anymore.
My main concern with speed is the ability to have a higher closing rate while intercepting cruise missiles. Now I also think it's probably a mistake to go to a smaller carrier design (maybe they could go with a combined force of a smaller number of CVs and then CVLs?), but I also believe one could design a fighter with a high top speed and excellent low speed characteristics. I don't claim to be an expert, though, so I really don't know.