We tried to make another F-111 ‘universal fighter’ out of it, which is always doomed to failure. They can choose what role they want, strip out all the useless crap they don’t need for it, and fly it.
Oh wait, they already have.
We should have built 4 planes.
1. Cheap air-support platform for COIN - something like the Super-Tucano. There should be lots of them, and NCO or warrant office pilots should be the norm.
2. A successor for the A-10 for more intensive battlegrounds - an “A-11.”
3. A stealthy strike aircraft - sort of a stealthy Jaguar.
4. An actual stealthy lightweight fighter to supplement the F-22. Or a UCAV “wingman” for F-22s so that every pilot is actually a flight leader.