While on that subject, I checked this one out for myself.

F-35C’s operating off carriers outside DF-21 range with a fuel top-up half way to firing point.

White square = CBG
Blue Circle = F-35C combat radius with fuel top-ups on the way out and back from KC-135’s operating from Guam. Required KC-135’s roughly 7 per CBG.
Dotted Blue Circle = F-35C weapons range. Assumed weapons load-outs of JASSM-ER and MALD-Js (similar range) to overwhelm air defences with swarms of jammers
Red Circles = DF-21C range launched from mainland (assume man-made islands will last less than 20 minutes)
Green Circle = KC-135 reach when operating from Guam. 150,000lbs fuel available for refueling fighters.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]241020[/ATTACH]

or

F-35B’s with no tanker support operating from hidden locations within various US aligned countries:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]241021[/ATTACH]

From this old map you can see that both aircraft have the legs to reach most of China’s military infrastructure. All Naval bases and a vast majority of the airforce bases.

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The chinese have disclosed that the DF-26 will also have anti-ship capabilities, with a range of 3000-4000 km.

http://nationalinterest.org/feature/showtime-china-reveals-two-carrier-killer-missiles-13769

Ok. Then I think the current EOTS with added ROVER capability will be good enough for the block 3s. I doubt they would spend several millions per plane to replace it with the advanced EOTS.

Last year or 2 years ago there was talk about a future version of the EOTS with larger aperture, this is probably the ‘Advanced EOTS’.

Another link that says it is a not just an EOTS, but a significantly different system:
http://www.azooptics.com/News.aspx?newsID=21518

Due to its similarity in shape and size to EOTS, Advanced EOTS can be installed with minimal changes to the F-35’s interface. It will be housed behind the same low-drag window, maintaining the F-35’s stealthy profile. Advanced EOTS production will be completed on the current EOTS line.

Advanced EOTS

They don’t say if the current EOTS can be upgraded.

Clear, it would be much easier to upgrade, and the LRS-B could benefit directly from software upgrades from the F-35, and the reverse too. And the LRS-B needs a more advanced sensor suite than the B-2, and also even the ability to defend itself with missiles. Most of the sensors are made by NG so I don’t see why they wouldn’t want to integrate them. These sofware to run the sensors and fuse them is already available, so no need to reinvent the wheel.

Maybe a sensor that would be useful and that the F-35 doesn’t have would be a wide area surveillance system, like the pod that has be developped for the reaper ( don’t remember ne name of it ). the LRS-B could survey a very large area. The videos taken by this super surveillance system composed of hundreds of mini cameras could be analysed when the plane returns to base.

I guess the F-35B could be deployed in hidden places in Taiwan, Okinawa would be turned into a real fortress. If they manage to close the Okinawa runways then you’re in trouble, they would launch attack after attacks to attack your F-22s and F-35s on the ground before they can take off. As for using bases in Japan, you’d have to use tankers which would be vulnerable to chinese stealth planes.

I think the F-35Bs would be very important. Some F-35As could also be used from roads in Taiwan too to avoid being attacked on the main air bases. And they would rotate regularly from place to place.

Or the US would start deploying a lot of F-22s and F-35As right after the chinese air force has been destroyed on the ground with the bombers/cruise missiles. I wonder how long it would take for instance to deploy 500 planes from the US, if the planes are kept ready to go with their tankers, and most of the logistic is alreaady forward deployed.

But the software of the F-35, is one step beyond what is available from the B-2. It seems top me the software should be made modular, so for instance the LRS-B can at least reuse the fusion software of the F-35, which is extemely complex. It would be a PITA to redevelop it. As for reusing systems from those installed on the B-2 upgrades, the economy of scale would be extemely low.