3 ms·
I think that's the crux of the problem. Who needs stealth for CAS? You're putting wear/tear on an expensive airframe that best serves at air-to-air interdiction
by exabrial 3y ago
I think that's the crux of the problem. Who needs stealth for CAS? You're putting wear/tear on an expensive airframe that best serves at air-to-air interdiction.
Even in lets say a theoretical Ukraine scenario, with overwatch from enemy S400 systems, is it realistic we'd run CAS missions without SEAD first?
- dharmab 3y ago>an expensive airframe The F-35 is no longer an expensive aircraft; the unit cost is quite low now.
- exabrial 3y agoI'm firmly in the camp that the F35 is actually a great multirole jet; however, it's not suited well for CAS due to its payload capacity, stall speed, loiter time, and hourly operating cost. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe your main threats during CAS are AAA and ManPADS, something that stealth does not protect you against, so it just serves to increase costs for operating in that role. It does appear to have the sensor suite for CAS, so it's possible it may be better served in a CAS protection role and target acquisition role. wdyt?