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It might be cheap enough, and given the wings might have the loiter time, but can it carry the ordinance that an A-10 can? Certainly doesn't seem to have the sa
by mikecb 12y ago
It might be cheap enough, and given the wings might have the loiter time, but can it carry the ordinance that an A-10 can? Certainly doesn't seem to have the same survivability characteristics either.
- commandar 12y agoNope. That's why I said it's not a direct replacement. The A-10 can carry a larger payload than the entire dry Scorpion airframe weighs. But it fills the slot better than the JSF which is just plain too fast a design to fill a loitering CAS role well. The fact that the Scorpion's so cheap to run means you could could sortie a lot more of them for the same cost as even a single A-10 (which is one of, if not the, cheapest to operate combat aircraft in the USAF inventory today).
- mikecb 12y agoAbsolutely. The idea that JSF can fill the role, even with UCAVs in support, is laughable.