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Monday, December 22, 2014

I'm Feeling a Little Air Sick, Right Now

I've been worried about the ability of the F-35 to carry out the air superiority role. Is a plan to make a version of the F-35 dedicated to air superiority missions confirmation of my worry?

So, the still-new F-35 isn't already a good air-to-air fighter?

Advanced derivatives of the tri-service Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter could replace the Air Force’s F-22 Raptor, Boeing F-15C Eagle and F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, multiple sources told the National Interest. However, they added that the idea of replacing the high flying and fast Raptor with the slower and less agile F-35 was not well received by many within the Air Force.

“No doubt that the F-35 will be doing air dominance missions in the future,” one industry official said. “Especially with more internal air-to-air, and maybe a new engine.”

The reservations of Air Force people about relying on a future derivative of the F-35 optimized for the air superiority mission does nothing to lesson my worries about the existing F-35.