It depends on what kind of country you have. Imagine in the extreme a small insular country, AWAC and MSA are merged into the same tactical needs (same route, same hours same range and blablabla..). So why not having both cap in the same platform?

Now, if you intend to fly weapons and intend to shot them, that’s non-sense:
– weapon carriage involves risk that should not be compatible with an expensive airframe such as an AWAC
– Launching Weapon bring you close to enemy defenses…

Regarding the ELINT function, any platform with a modern EW suite becomes now the facto an ELINT platform.

The F35 can be operated up to one month without any ALIS connection.
So if Turkey chooses to strike a neighboring country it would probably face the UN faster than any programmatic complication with ALIS.

U.S. strikes Islamic State in Libya, killing 40 people

“Destruction of the camp and Chouchane’s removal will eliminate an experienced facilitator and is expected to have an immediate impact on ISIL’s ability to facilitate its activities in Libya, including recruiting new ISIL members, establishing bases in Libya, and potentially planning external attacks on U.S. interests in the region,” the Pentagon said

Illustrating the recent “shift” in attitude toward IS’s militants presence in Lybia (more a confirmation than a shift):

The air strikes came just days after a warning by President Barack Obama that Washington intended to “take actions where we’ve got a clear operation and a clear target in mind”.

“And we are working with our coalition partners to make sure that as we see opportunities to prevent ISIS from digging in, in Libya, we take them,” Obama said on Tuesday.

Strike package launched from Uk

Britain said it had authorized the use of its airbases to launch the attack.

“I welcome this strike that has taken out a Daesh training camp being used to train terrorists to carry out attacks,” Defense Secretary Michael Fallon said in a statement.

Notice:
The named individual is the perpetrator of the Attack against the tourist ressorts in Sousse/Tunisia that killed many Britons.

Source:
reuters

Notice the composite section intercepting (Raf & M2K)

What kind of fighter Netanyahu [c]ould offer to build? Let me guess: A Kfir C-XX?!!

And it’s not like Assad’s haven’t leveled off entire cities to punish opponents (Google Hama).

As I read the story about the Italian plane going trans Atlantic the plus point is that the systems on a Block 3i, I assume, plane managed not to Blue Screen during the transit, it having been reported that there were problems after about 3 hours. Otherwise the story is F35 proves that it can fly +/- straight and level across the Atlantic abit like an airliner and confirms that it can refuel from an Italian tanker.

In case you don’t know or didn’t bother to read much before posting, that particular plane went straight out of the factory line with (from my MEM) 15 hours of testing only. It is also SOP to fill up your tanks in case you have to divert across the Atlantic. Every fighters do that. Fresh and used ones.This is why most crossing are done flying in formation with a tanker.
Regarding the twin 130, given the tremendous job that the Italians are doing rescuing relentlessly desperate people in the Mediterranean sea despite all odds, it not surprising that some are still surprised that an individual live can matters for them.
And I would remain you that a Typhoon was also part of that flight…
The difference in refueling count depict only the difference in range/tanks capacities. Edit: Typhoon continued its flight another 500 miles (see Typhoon thread).

An interesting incident today. A 777 diverted back to london after some passengers got sick vomiting and fainting.

It’s obviously not directly correlated to MH370 and constitue another speculation but this is is a deliberate choice from me as it may illustrate the runaway batterie theory.

Please, keep in mind that Boeing was the first (and so far the only one to my knowledge) to avert more restrictions with batteries being carried by commercial flights.

American flight makes U-turn after mystery illness strikes

The four-year-old Boeing 777 departed London’s Heathrow Airport around noon on Wednesday for Los Angeles. Once in the air, the airline said two passengers and several flight attendants complained of lightheadedness. According to witnesses, two people fainted. […]
According to maps tracking the plane’s flight path, the captain turned around just miles from Iceland’s largest international airport.

“The pilot came on and spoke to everyone and said, ‘Listen, the three of us are safe up front. We have zero problems, we’re taking us back to London,'”

Source:
cbsnews.com
seekingalpha.com