F-35 to do the job of the A-10?

[rdenham]

The F-35 is not an F-16 or F/A-18, and it was not designed to do everything they are capable of doing. It was designed to do everything they are doing better than they do it now.

Think of it this way: the vast majority of combat missions flown by both the F/A-18 and the F-16 are ground attack missions, generally thier loadout consists of 2 PGMs in the 2,000 lb class (normally either JDAMs or Paveways), 3 fuel tanks, 2 AMRAAMs, and 2 Sidewinders. A F-35 could carry all that minus the sidewinders, and carry it all internally, and thet does more than just affect stealth.

As someone quoted earlier "I don't care what it was designed to do, I care what it can do," well a F-16 was designed to break mach 2 but it can only do that while carrying a pair of sidewinders, try hanging the loadout I just listed above on it and it would be hard pressed to break the sound barrier. A F-35 on the other hand might only be able to hit a top speed of Mach 1.5, but it will do it with an operational warload.

JDAM’s can be deployed from a great enough distance if they are released from a high altitude that carrying them externally is not a issue. Once the external munitions are released the pylons could be jettisoned and thus retaining the internal payload stealth cross section.

[David Hingtgen]

Jettison the *pylons*?? That'd be a neat trick. Also--the F-22 requires special "stealth" covers over the attachment points when pylons aren't attached. I'd presume the -35 would need something similar. Simply removing the pylons won't restore the stealthiness, you'd need to cover up the holes, etc. Hard to do mid-flight.

[Retracting Head Ter Ter]

Jettison the *pylons*?? That'd be a neat trick. Also--the F-22 requires special "stealth" covers over the attachment points when pylons aren't attached. I'd presume the -35 would need something similar. Simply removing the pylons won't restore the stealthiness, you'd need to cover up the holes, etc. Hard to do mid-flight.

Is it that hard or are there some pretty formidable obstacles to overcome if the aircraft was designed with stealth covers which are hinged/springed loaded like the fuel tank inner flaps on a automobile?

[David Hingtgen]

The main obstacle is jettisoning the pylons. I'm sure there's some plane somewhere that can (F-111?) but generally that doesn't happen.

As for covers: moving doors for any stealth have very fine tolerances, and are generally hydraulically boosted for a TIGHT fit. The smaller they are, and the more there are, the harder it is to do. I'm amazed they got it to work for the F-22's gun. To make a bunch of little powered doors for each little attachment point would be a significant challenge. (And a single large one to cover the entire pylon/wing interface area probably wouldn't be practical).

I sure hope the F-22's covers aren't in the "hand-sealed before every flight" category.

[Anubis]

The main obstacle is jettisoning the pylons. I'm sure there's some plane somewhere that can (F-111?) but generally that doesn't happen.

As for covers: moving doors for any stealth have very fine tolerances, and are generally hydraulically boosted for a TIGHT fit. The smaller they are, and the more there are, the harder it is to do. I'm amazed they got it to work for the F-22's gun. To make a bunch of little powered doors for each little attachment point would be a significant challenge. (And a single large one to cover the entire pylon/wing interface area probably wouldn't be practical).

I sure hope the F-22's covers aren't in the "hand-sealed before every flight" category.

Crewchiefs everywhere are cringing in horror at that idea. Any of these would be a nightmare to rig properly and would break quite easily I would imagine. I wonder how the 22's gun cover is set up.

[Retracting Head Ter Ter]

Anyone/anywhere I can get some more info/pics on the gun cover for the F-22 or F/A-22 or whatever they call it now?

Is the cover destroyed once the pilot decide to shoot?

I know powered doors for each little attachment point would have to be built to very very fine tolerances but I was asking if it was technically impossible or just very hard to do. Maybe they aren't doing it since it might add $5-10m to the already porky price tag?

Edited March 18, 2004 by Retracting Head Ter Ter

[Graham]

Never seen a close up pic of the gun door, but no it is not destroyed when the gun is fired. It's a hydraulic cover that swings open when the pilot pulls the trigger and closes automatically after firing. Read this and this.

Graham

[Retracting Head Ter Ter]

Thats what I thought they could do, use the same stuff as the gun door on the pylon mountings points.

The second article did claim that the pylons on the 22 can be jettisoned though.

For all we know, they figured out a way to seal the attachment points but its classified stuff so they aren't honking it to the public just yet.