Badassbab said:
superchunk said:
JEMC said:
@bolded. I don't know if the US Navy have changed their minds, but I doubt the F-35 will replace their F/A-18s. They always go with planes with 2 engines for safety purposes, landing in an aircraft carrier is a lot harder than landing on the ground so they go with planes with 2 engines to minimize incedents with malfuntioning/damaged engines. That's how the F/A-18 were "born", the YF-17 was the looser of the contract that gave birth to the F-16 but the Navy refused to adopt it and choosed and further developed the looser YF-17 (with 2 jet engines) until it became the F/A-18.
About the costs, when the F-15 was introduced its cost was around 50 millions. Now it's +100 due to many factors but specially electronics and up-to-date upgrades . They have upgraded/replaced the radar many, many times and that made it more and more expensive. And the same will happen with the F-35, those 122 million for the F-35A will go up to 150 before 2020 with the F-35D.
|
F-35 has a Navy variant. It is intended to replace EVERY fighter craft in all US services with the exception of the F-22. Navy will use the F-35C variant.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_Martin_F-35_Lightning_II#Variants
|
Not quite true, Navy will keep Super Hornets. The USN has never been as much into stealth as the Airforce as they think stealth won't be able to keep up with advances in radar technology to detect stealth. The F-35 is less stealthy than the older F-22.
|
"The United States Navy will use the F-35C carrier variant. It intends to buy 480 F-35Cs to replace the F/A-18A, B, C, and D Hornets. The F-35C will also serve as a low-observable complement to the Super Hornet.[306]"
Fact is, the F-35C will replace the F/A-18 and only complement the F/A-18E and F varients.
Additionally, I don't know why people keep comparing it to the F-22. They have two difference purposes and that is why the F-22 will remain even after the F-35.
F-22 and B-2 are the first response air craft for new war. Once we have destroyed the enemies ground and other capabilities were stealth is priority #1, then we bring in the F-35 to continue the fight. Basically, the first two are like the Marines and special forces and the F-35 is the Army and larger fighting force.
