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It's really not. To put it mildly, the report that that article draws from has been subject to some criticism over the years. To put it less mildly, if you link

It's really not. To put it mildly, the report that that article draws from has been subject to some criticism over the years. To put it less mildly, if you link it in any community that follows military aviation closely they will probably make fun of you[1]. Performance is generally better than F-16s in real wold scenarios due to the more powerful F135 engine and the internal weapons bay which means carried weapons don't cause additional drag as they would if carried on pylons. That second point is extremely significant. The aerodynamic effects of hanging a bunch of stuff of your wings is pretty major, especially at supersonic speeds. Here's a few pilots commenting on differences between the F35 and other aircraft they've flown[2]. [1]https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/129/519/4d0.jpg https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/129/519/4d0... [2]https://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/f-35-faces-most-critical-test-180971734/ https://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/f-35-faces-mos...

TheOtherHobbes 7y ago
The enemy isn't a pilot flying something like an F-16, the enemy is a hypothetical low-cost high-maneuverability remotely controlled drone fighter which isn't limited by human tolerance for G-forces. Or even a linked drone swarm. On that basis, the F-35 will be obsolete against the other superpowers by around 2035 at the latest.
- imtringued 7y ago
  >The enemy isn't a pilot flying something like an F-16, the enemy is a hypothetical low-cost high-maneuverability remotely controlled drone fighter which isn't limited by human tolerance for G-forces. The F-35 has internal and external mount points that are specifically designed to carry these drones.
- thunderbird120 7y ago
  See my reply to the other person making that kind of claim https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20796007 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20796007. To expand upon that, manned aircraft aren't going away anytime soon because electronic warfare is a thing and until drones are capable of human level decision making you need a human in the loop. Drones will augment the F35's capability but against a near peer adversary you're going to need a manned aircraft at the center of every drone swarm. Especially if you're taking about small drones as those will be lacking the high powered radar which will be crucial in such engagements.

TheOtherHobbes 7y ago

The enemy isn't a pilot flying something like an F-16, the enemy is a hypothetical low-cost high-maneuverability remotely controlled drone fighter which isn't limited by human tolerance for G-forces. Or even a linked drone swarm. On that basis, the F-35 will be obsolete against the other superpowers by around 2035 at the latest.

imtringued 7y ago
>The enemy isn't a pilot flying something like an F-16, the enemy is a hypothetical low-cost high-maneuverability remotely controlled drone fighter which isn't limited by human tolerance for G-forces. The F-35 has internal and external mount points that are specifically designed to carry these drones.
thunderbird120 7y ago
See my reply to the other person making that kind of claim https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20796007 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20796007. To expand upon that, manned aircraft aren't going away anytime soon because electronic warfare is a thing and until drones are capable of human level decision making you need a human in the loop. Drones will augment the F35's capability but against a near peer adversary you're going to need a manned aircraft at the center of every drone swarm. Especially if you're taking about small drones as those will be lacking the high powered radar which will be crucial in such engagements.