Davis: F-35B External Weapons Give Marines 4th, 5th Generation Capabilities in One Plane

[Gufi]

The USAF is keenly away for the problem of external stores and has options for retaining a VLO configuration on the F-35 when using external weapons.

this is the F 35 B which is going to be flying with external arms can not be stealthy if the payload is what is near what is shown here. Also the amount of fuel in this variant already is 1/3 less than the other F-35 and this added weight will further reduce its combat radius from the 850 km it has on internal fuel.
So I do not see the advantage of flying this jet with this configuration honestly. I have nothing against the F 35 in general but using this will not give any real advantage to the marines. As for the drones, they do not carry the amount of pay load that is being carried here. When and if this much payload can be hidden away remains to be seen.

 

[C130]

sounds good. I'm willing to bet F-35 won't be used much just with internal bay loadout.

I like to see Brimstone or JAGM integrated on it soon, could carry 12 of those beasts on the 4 inner pylons

 

[Guynextdoor2]

VLO - very low observability, not VTOL - vertical take of and landing. The Harrier and Yak-38 and 141 aren't low observable airframes and would need extensive modification to be made so.



It's worth noting that not everything carried externally will compromise the F-35's stealth profile, since stealthy pods also exist:

These will allow the F-35 to carry external stores, such as munitions or surveillance gear while remaining in a VLO configuration.

Stealthy weapons such as JASSM also help the F-35 retain its profile:

JSOW allows this capability too, but too a lesser extent:

Some stand-off strike weapons can be carried internally too, such as the JSM/NSM:

The USAF is keenly away for the problem of external stores and has options for retaining a VLO configuration on the F-35 when using external weapons.

sorry got confused there.

No

The Harrier and Yak aren't shaped and don't have the materials to make it VLO. Plus the RCS of the aircraft goes way up when there is weapons attached and there are no internal bays are on the Harrier or yak.

If you have the F-35 available why not use it? The F-35 to my knowledge doesn't use a coating but an easier to maintain radar absorbent fiber-mat baked into the airframe. Honestly the situational awareness is much better on the F-35 too. For example the DAS can pick up a MANPAD launch and alert the pilot so he can maneuver to evade.

Many countries wont allow us to station our good strategic bombers on their bases close to the middle east and flying them out of CONUS is way too expensive.

Putting external weapons on the aircraft wont be a permanent decision. It just increases the weapons carried for one sortie against an enemy posing no air threat allowing for more targets hit per sortie.

yeah I got confused there...VTOL vs VLO my bad.

 

[BoQ77]

F-35 would dominate the market with its reasonable price after mass production.
Anyone tell me, what's the other designs produced more than 400 at this moment?

 

[Oldman1]

I do not get who the enemy is... to expect air superiority to the level you can forgo stealth is not useful against strong countries who will have stealth of their own and multiple layers of air defence. Here I see Russia, China who the F 35 would be needed against, no other air force can even match their current 4th generation fighters.
Against countries where stealth will not matter you can just use your 4.5 and 4th generation jets. The cost of flying this jet to be a truck to drop bombs is useless and a waste. Also would love to see how the engine copes with so much payload. Here I am thinking of countries which have limited or no air defence. This would include countering terrorists etc.

The F-35 is useful to carry payloads beyond what the internal payloads allow and allows flexibility if not needing stealth. And even then F-15s and F-16s are still powerful to fight against China and Russia if needed. Trust me, the engine on the F-35 is the most powerful engine in the world.

F-35:Maximum thrust: 43,000 lbf (191.35 kN) max, 28,000 lbf (124.6 kN) intermediate
F-16ry thrust: 17,155 lbf (76.3 kN) Thrust with afterburner: 28,600 lbf (127 kN)

 

[razgriz19]

My thinking exactly. They're shoveling so much horseshit to the American and other people, Obviously if you don't put your weapons in internal bay it'll automatically become lower than 5th gen . Some of these guys are just EPIC!!

They're going to bring one of these to Toronto in three weeks. I'll try dig out as much info as i can from the pilots about this pig and what they think of it.

5th generation only in clean config
I think Lockheed has mistakenly made a very expensive reconnaissance airplane

 

[gambit]

Those who laughs at the F-35 with external load are fools.

The reason why we want external load on the F-35 is for when the need for low radar observability is not needed or less needed. Simple as that. Why are you people so rigid in your thinking ?

 

[anon45]

Those who laughs at the F-35 with external load are fools.

The reason why we want external load on the F-35 is for when the need for low radar observability is not needed or less needed. Simple as that. Why are you people so rigid in your thinking ?

simple, they want it to fail, and look for any excuse to validate their desire. Whether it is based in fact or not.

 

[mil-avia]

F-35 Stealth Fighter Spy Cover-Up

The F-35B can't carry its most advanced weapon until 2022

F-35B aircraft: Is it worth the cost? (link to comments)

F-35B: A Less-Than-Capable Platform

F-35B Needs a Plan B: Options to Rising Costs of the Aircraft

7 Things The Marines Have To Do To Make The F-35B Worth The Huge Cost

Hovering at a Precipice: Does Obsession with an all STOVL Force Unnecessarily Endanger the Future of Marine Corps Tactical Fixed-wing Aviation?

Australia Abandons Proposal To Order F35B

Pentagon remains stubbornly unable to account for its billions
A celebration by the Marine Corps of its accounting prowess turns out to have been premature, with a discrepancy in a key audit of $800 million

Pentagon Can't Account for Nearly $1 Billion It Spent