F-35

@deepthought said
Not automatically. There's the issue of logisistics and maintenance, I don't know enough about the technology, but while buying no more F35Bs than necessary for carrier operations and having the rest of the F35A variety is cheaper, in the long run it may well be cheaper to buy and operate only F35Bs. I don't think it's a straightforward decision, there's advantages to t ...[text shortened]... a smaller fuel tank and is limited to 7g maneuvers. I don't think it's a straightforward decision.

These are adult toys for war games and posturing not war. Real war will be fought with drones and computer viruses.

@shavixmir said
I remember the discussions in Holland about either investing in the JSF (the F-35) or the Eurofighter (Typhoon).

Against the wishes of many, the Netherlands opted for the F-35.

Even back then it was pointed out that the Typhoon was more agile and probably the better investment.

I have no clue. I don’t even know if the JSF and the Typhoon are 4th or 5th generation ...[text shortened]... fighter.

It all means squat-diddley to me.

Nothing is more beautiful than a Spitfire or Stuka.

JSF is 5th. Typhoon is "4.5" or upgraded 4th generation.

All the major powers are looking at making a 6th generation fighter. The USA will probably be first to do so. Few countries even have 5th generation.

The post that was quoted here has been removed

The F35 is not only developed by the USA. It is the JOINT Strike Fighter (Strike referring to a type of light bomber i.e. it's a fighter bomber not air superiority). The UK has been involved from the beginning and many other countries have contributed to the project.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2021/02/25/after-20-years-the-f-35-stealth-fighter-is-still-stuck-in-testing/


- The F-35 still has 871 unresolved deficiencies, only two fewer than last year.Ten of these are the more serious Category I deficiencies that “may cause death, severe injury, or severe occupational illness; may cause loss or major damage to a weapon system; critically restricts the combat readiness capabilities of the using organization.”
- The F-35 program... is still failing to live up to its maintenance and sortie requirements, despite the fact that those expectations were set very low.
- one of the biggest weaknesses of the F-35 program has been the deeply flawed maintenance and spare parts computer network called the Autonomic Logistics Information System, known as ALIS.
- Engineers can’t complete the Joint Simulation Environment facility.

When will cancel culture come for the F-35?

Look at the power play the US put on trying to convince Turkey not to buy the Russian S-400 SAM's.

Good lord above, you think Washington had a bomb dropped on it, the way they acted.

@Earl-of-Trumps
What? You are actually criticizing TRUMP?

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/03/turkeys-purchase-of-russian-missile-system-defies-nato

Sounds like it wasn't just the US worried about that.

@Duchess64
I think developed anti aircraft missiles will be able to shoot down ANY fighter, Mach 5 or whatever, they can't out run a missile which is only fueled for a couple of minutes and no pilot so they can make 20 g turns with no problem. That would make a pilot pass out in a couple of seconds.
So the defense of aircraft will depend on the ability to electronically jam the radar of such missiles or Lidar, whatever, so the fight for air superiority continues unabated.

The elephant in the room seems advances in radar technology that might very well unmask the stealth capability of the F-35.

The Chinese are experimenting with low frequency radar that shows promise. The Germans have a system that can spot movement due to deviations in the background electromagnetic spectrum.

Will it make the F-35 obsolete or will they develop an increased range of jamming techniques? One thing is for certain, its never going to stop. And then we will evolve with 6th gen fighters which might take proportionately longer to deploy than the 5th generation fighters have, and then the F-35 is no longer a stop gap, but a must have till 2040 and maybe beyond!