Stealth, a broadband LPI radar ^ Datalink, and improved RWR helps maintain Situational Awareness and avoid detection, internal stores means no drag / range penalty, and access to the GBU-53 restores stowed kills in an A2G role. and against bunkers and the like it maintains practical parity against most targets short of things you would send Dedicated Bombers after, with the GBU-28.
So if the situation were to warrant it, in a modern threat environment. I’m sending F-22s, Not F-15’s unless the target needed a GBU-28, then an F-117 would probably do better. (I’d need to check my sources to see if the A2K (BLU-137/B) warhead was produced in numbers since that might even things out with a JDAM kit).
The ones that would actually make it a good CAS (BAI) plane e.g. low speed handling, and access to a large number of “heavy” (3000lb @ nominal G loading) rated ordnance stations.
There is a reason why for example the F-35 lost out to the A-10 for these specific reasons, as naturally conceptual concessions are made at the design level.
Buddy, not even the Russians would be insane enough to send out singular flights on a strike mission. that’s not how these things work. This is practically true of all airforces.
Its’ not the first arrow in the quiver for A2A, the same way the F-22 isn’t for A2G it’s no more or less multi-role.
Up to 80 JDAMs and Link-16 connectivity don’t really care, would it be a waste of money and the airframe, absolutely yes. But the capability remains.
It was a low cost, low risk modification of an existing platform nothing is dedicated about it. Hell you can strap gunpods to it if you want. Doesn’t make it a good idea.
It’s been type classified, had successful test firings, and has had money put aside for it. It won’t be that long before it is fielded.
Range overmatch is the entire point of it, if you have to respect it it’s much more risky to be offensive tactically, which “fixes” the opponent, and reduces their options
It’s technically the best the US has got, since the move to an 8 / 10" airframe was ditched to cut costs. All the -4 does anyway is deal with aging out components that was causing serviceability issues.
Well we haven’t seen much outside knowing that the Legion pod is based on a derivative of the AAS-42’s detector that was originally slated for the Quick-Strike (F-14"E").
How? The Brimstone / SPEAR 3 set up is better than the AGM-187A / GBU-53 combo in most respects.
Exactly, so in what way is it multi-role?
