How about.....Don't bother with JSF and do what the USAF may well do...
MQ-9 Reaper UAV to replace F-16s?
Although there is a tug-of-war in the USAF concerning UAV's vs Manned vehicles, it is becoming clear that some Air Force brass are consenting to the way of the future and have begun comparing the MQ-9 Reaper (Predator B) with the F-16 (at least in the "bomb truck" role). Their logic is that it flies at approximately the same altitude, has a sensor suite similar to the F-16's Sniper & Litening pods and carries a similar weapons load.
Col. Steven Pennington, the operations group commander on the Air Staff in Washington, D.C. has stated that he thinks of the MQ-9 Reaper as having an F-16’s strike-like capability but it just doesn’t have a man in in the seat. He considers the MQ-1 Predator as having an RC-135/U-2-like capability that happens to also have 2 Hellfire missiles on it.
Advantages of the Reaper:
The Reaper certainly has loiter time going for it, as it can remain on station for 18-24 hours, depending on flight time to target zone.
Not as important as persistence to the USAF, is the fact that each Reaper costs around $7 million as opposed to $30 million + for each F-16.
Ordinance-wise, the Reaper typically can fly 8 Hellfires, 2 500-pound JDAMs, and 2 Sidewinder a2a missiles. However, the aircraft can also carry laser guided bombs and other types of ordnance (up to 3,000 lbs worth).
USAF officials plan to fit the Reaper with the 250 lb SDB's, enabling it to precision strike 16 targets on 1 mission. You can compare that to the B-2's capability (albeit with smaller ordinance) during the conflict in Kosovo.
Disadvantages of the Reaper:
It's not an F-16...
Seriously though, the Reaper is not very fast at all flying somewhere around 170 knots.
Also, even with Sidewinders, do you really expect the Reaper to have any survivability in an A2A situation?
How likely is all of this?
How serious are USAF planners (fighter mafia) with Predators and Reaper squadrons?
By 2010 USAF intends to have 15 Predator squadrons (there are already several active at Creech AFB), and by 2012 there should be 50-70 Reaper MQ-9's in active service. Interestingly enough, and possibly alarming to some is that the USAF will be retiring a comparable number of F-16's over the same period, F-35 or not.
Can the Reaper (Predator B) actually take over the bomb truck role of the F-16?[/B]
http://www.afa.org/magazine/jan2007/0107UAV.asp
Cancel the JSF and purchase 50 Raptors and the rest MQ-Reapers
What do you think?????????