The Marines say the F-35 is now ready for combat

Re:The Marines say the F-35 is now ready for combat by na85 on Saturday August 01, 2015 @03:21AM (#9986253)

Slow and maneuverable doesn't win air combat. The Japanese found that out the hard way.

Ask any combat pilot and they will tell you Speed Is Life. The faster aircraft dictates the terms of the engagement.

Also the F-35's stealth capabilities have been compromised.

Edit: down voters please check your understanding of air combat. You can't fight what you can't catch

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Re:The Marines say the F-35 is now ready for combat by mmaunder on Saturday August 01, 2015 @12:58PM (#9987716)

And running away is not what these aircraft are designed to do. With higher airspeed you lose maneuverability. Speed is life refers to any aircraft and the ability to trade speed for altitude. This should get you started on why the trend is to build slower lighter more manueverable airfraft...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy%E2%80%93maneuverabili...

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Re:The Marines say the F-35 is now ready for combat by aries1980 on Sunday August 02, 2015 @12:48AM (#9989790)

I can't remember to the documentary that has made with RAF Sea Harrier pilots, but in combat they preferred over Panavia Tornado even if the Tornado have supersonic speed, higher altitude and thrust.

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