There's a lot of technical factors out there but even the USAF want more Raptors to support the F-35. Not because they need range and bomb load in the air force. So why? Because they want long term air superiority. That requirement would originally have been fulfilled by 700+ Raptors.
A small country like Norway or Denmark can't afford to use two types of jets. For them it's better to buy a air superiority jet like Gripen or Rafale and use it as a bomber when needed. If the F-35 could offer a long term air superiority capability then the USAF wouldn't ask for many more Raptors.
They obviously see what's on the horizon and the F-35 won't be able to fully deal with the new threats. New russian jets coming next decade... jets designed to counter the F-22. I ask you would you give up true air superiority without even knowing your future threats? That's what people is asking Norway, Denmark and Holland to do by choosing the slow less agile F-35.
Or they're run by the "fighter mafia" that wants fighter jets in their thousands and "not a pound for air to ground"...
This little quote from Lockheed Martin the manufacturer of the F-22 AND the F-35 couldn't be true could it?
The Joint Strike Fighter could be upgraded to carry up to six internal AIM-120 AMRAAM Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles, according to a Lockheed Martin executive. "Our spiral development program includes the ability to carry up to six internal AMRAAMs", G. Richard Cathers, senior manager of Lockheed Martin's strategic studies group, told the IQPC Fighter Conference in London on Wednesday. "It's a capability second only to the F-22."
Cathers added that the JSF's air-combat capability "has not been advertised as it could or should have been", partly because "at the same time as we are developing the F-35, we and the USAF have wanted to expand the F-22 program." Apparently, the USAF has not wanted to advertise the JSF's air-to-air capability, concerned that it would weaken the case for acquiring more than the 183 F-22s authorized today.
The four added internal AMRAAMs would be carried in place of internal bombs. It's not clear, however, whether the short-take-off, vertical landing F-35B variant, which has smaller weapon bays, would be able to carry the added weapons.
An executive for a competing fighter program, speaking at the conference, said that the six-missile capability would be a major improvement for the JSF. Until now, competitors have criticised the JSF because it carries only two AAMs - supporting only a single engagement - in stealth mode.
Courtest of Bill Sweetman's ARES blog.
The F-35 has excellent thrust to weight ratio, excellent agility and maneuverability, a "high mach number" wing and fuselage planform, clean airframe in operational configuration, large internal fuel fraction, the best radar system in the world, the best passive sensor system in the world, advanced helmet mounted sighting system, a choice of the worlds best HOBS heaters (AIM-9X, ASRAAM and even IRIS-T if a country feels like coughing up the integration dollars) the most advanced current AAM's and the most advanced future planned AAM's.
It's instaneous and sustained roll rates are equal or superior to F-16 and F/A-18 fighters (no slouches in A2A themselves) and with it's thrust and large fuel fraction, it's going to accelerate quicker than them as well.
Jon Beesley has already commented in Code One Magazine that the F-16 (Block 40 I believe) being used the the AA-1 F-35 "chase plane" has to go to reheat to keep up with the F-35 in "dry" thrust in numerous profiles...
This is the heavy "pre-SWAT" airframe too...
Why on Earth people think it's only a "bomb truck" is beyond me. Is the F-16 only a "bomb truck"? I guess national pride simply won't allow them to admit that the US has designed the 2 best fighters in the last 20 years...
