[Fractal Trader]

Even without stealth, the most armaments that it can handle is around eight, if I recall correctly. It just seems like the payload is too small, especially when in the stealth mode. Can’t a F-15/F-18 C/D carry more ordnance, or am I mistaken?

[sukhoi-30mki]

Adding both internal and external capabilities, the F-35’s payload exceeds that of most legacy fighters other than the F-15E.

[TalonDJ]

the most armaments that it can handle is around eight

That is a pretty normal number of pylons. However more than one weapon can be mounted to a single pylon at the same time, depending on the weapon.