The F-35 is a great plane until it runs out of missiles.
...until it runs out of its two missiles.
The F-35 is a great plane until it gets anywhere near its adversaries, then it gets destroyed by 3rd gen fighters.
But at least it's also a terrible ground attack plane and bomber too.
I'm of the opinion that our AF should consist entirely of A-10s and F-16s
Re:The F-35 still has a long way to go
by AlexCoventry on Sunday April 02, 2017 @01:00AM
(#14015873)
That wasn't the question, though.
Re:The F-35 still has a long way to go
by strictnein on Sunday April 02, 2017 @01:05AM
(#14015888)
Thought you were more broadly asking what its role in general was.
If you're asking what its role was in that specific strike: Israel doesn't have any other stealth capabilities. So its role would be to fly over troubled territory rather freely, given the capabilities in the region. The F-15s and F-16s they have can't do that.
The drones they have can do that far more cheaply.
Re:The F-35 still has a long way to go
by AlexCoventry on Sunday April 02, 2017 @01:22AM
(#14015926)
It's confusing to call that combat as a rebuttal to the flaws highlighted in this report.
Of course, the F-22 would eat them up as well, but it's a stealth air superiority fighter while the F-35 is a stealth multi-purpose strike fighter.