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To: Secret Agent Man
Agreed. I would look forward to a 4th+ F-18 Stealth version.

It not going to be stealthy with bombs and missiles hanging off it.

18 posted on 03/11/2010 9:10:29 PM PST by Doe Eyes
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To: Doe Eyes

Right. When the Chinese J-10 came out, they were talking about its stealth characteristics, which even I, as a non-engineer had to laugh at, when they showed it loaded up with external tanks, missiles and bombs.

The JSF at least can carry a load of ordinance internally (according to this description of the armament)

The F-35A carries a 25 mm GAU-22/A cannon internally. The standard internal weapons load is two AIM-120C air-to-air missiles and two 2,000-pound GBU-31 JDAM guided bombs. Optional internal loads include eight GBU-38 small-diameter bombs, as well as a wide variety of air-to-ground missiles, dispensers and guided weapons. The internal weapons bay is reconfigurable for all air-to-ground ordnance, all air-to-air ordnance or a blend of both. When stealth is no longer required to execute a mission, the F-35A external pylons are loaded with ordnance, giving the aircraft a weapons payload of more than 18,000 pounds.


27 posted on 03/15/2010 9:09:21 PM PDT by rlmorel (We are traveling "The Road to Serfdom".)
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