F35 vs. A10?

[Speaker to Animals]

Same price as an F-16 in constant dollars, stealth included.

The stealth makes it worse than an F-16 for anything that an F-16 currently does. Stealth means you made huge sacrifices in armaments and performance. It carries much less payload and what it can carry is extremely limited.

I mean.. I could almost see it being useful to replace the F-16CJ for the SEAD role, since to get the SAM system to target your F-35, you have to modify it to use a lower bandwidth like the Serbians did, but that's hardly a big advantage. Our adversaries already upgraded to track and target these stealth aircraft.

[Smitty-48]

Says who?

[Speaker to Animals]

Oh wait. What was I thinking. It probably cannot fit an AGM-88 missile in its weapons bay. LMFAO

[Speaker to Animals]

Says who?

There are no weapons pylons on the fucking thing. Do you not grok that? The only weapons this thing can carry have to fit in its paltry weapons bays. Limited payload all around. Limited ammunition as well because it's so fucking small.

I guess it doesn't matter too much because it's not like this thing has enough fuel to linger around and actually support infantry anyway.

[Smitty-48]

6 external pylons, same as F-16

Two modes, Stealth Mode, Beast Mode.

Stealth Mode; all internal. Beast Mode; internal and external.

[Speaker to Animals]

Then why have stealth if you are going to have to put pylons on it?

And for stealth, why is it so small so that it cannot carry enough fuel to actually get into any real fight?

What exactly is it supposed to do here? It's scatter-brained.

[Smitty-48]

You only need stealth first week of war.

Once the IADS is degraded, you go to Beast Mode and finish the ground forces off.

Does the F-117 mission, then it does the F-16/F-18/Harrier/Tornado mission after.

[Speaker to Animals]

Dude, this thing cannot even make it all the way to a war without a tanker.

You realize that the kinds of aircraft it was designed to replace were never meant to win an air war, right? That was the F-15's job. An F-16 cannot win an air war against Russia. Never could.

[Smitty-48]

Theater tactical interdiction platform, not a strategic bomber, but neither is anything it is replacing.

[Speaker to Animals]

Theater tactical interdiction platform, not a strategic bomber, but neither is anything it is replacing.

That's the only fucking reason you need stealth, dude.