it’s not just about “today’s planes are better” which would be quite simplistic, but simply to say that for countries that have limited budgets

I think that when the South Korean & Canadian bids come in, it will be a stark wake-up call to a lot of people. Up until now, costs associated with various programs could not be directly compared with any degree of accuracy due to the conditions of the cost varying from source to source.

These upcoming bids will be the first time (if the details are released) where a direct apples-to-apples comparison can be made. The Japanese bid could have been, but the details were not released. We can’t even compare the FMS announcements since Boeing chose to only offer the electronics ($40 mil per plane) through FMS and the rest (Airframe, engines, etc) through DCS (Direct Company Sales).

What cannot be disputed is that being a part of the F-35 Partnership has a better potential for long-term offset stability, will offer faster, cheaper, & better upgrades, and will offer better security 30 years from now than current 4th gen assets.

Sure, Lots of info… IF you want to pay for it 🙂

Maybe they should come out with a Cost Per Mission (CPM) model.

What does it cost to destroy target X at range Y guarded by assets Z?

The CPM model should include everything involved (all assets like IFR, ISR, etc).

Here is the new CodeOne link

http://www.codeonemagazine.com/article.html?item_id=58

Don’t forget that X-35 flew with a DSI in 2000.

The SH cannot get to m1.8 armed (not even with conformal only missiles), let alone with funbags or a FLIR/IRST.

It’s not just about being caught off-guard, but being able to project power globally, on short notice, without having to have a CBG in the area.

Your GCI either vectors you, or even better, uploads a position and flight path (albeit, not a very precise one) of the F-35. [something Saab had back in the 80s]

You then approach from a beneficial angle, probably from the F-35’s flank, using offboard and passive sensors to develop your track to a point where you can light off missiles (with radar guidance by a lead aircraft and launches from “trailers” approaching from the front of the F-35 if necessary)

Re-framing your augments I see 🙂

You started out by claiming that an enemy fighter would see the F-35 at 200 miles and now you say that it would require GCI and a ground based LW radar… Well at least you’re being honest.

If there were an LW radar with the capabilities to detect & track the F-35, several things would/could happen.

1. That LW radar site would be the receiver of multiple attacks early on before other F-35s would be openly operating in the area. These attacks would likely involve NOE, multiple SDB, Spear3, Cruise Missile, and other various tactics to ensure that the radar site is taken out.

2. Assuming that the site does get a vague idea of the F-35’s track, any communication with the vectored fighters will likely give them away.

3. The vectored fighter will have to go active since the F-35’s track is vague in nature. The F-35 will likely detect this and react by one of the flight turning to deal with the treat. At this point its RCS drops considerably from the initial track and the vectored fighter will no longer know where it is at. The vectored fighter is now likely being hunted and does not even know it.

4. The airport that the vectored fighters came from will also be getting a lot of attention prior to F-35s openly operating in the area.

My point is that you cannot assume that the F-35s will come blindly into an area where they know where the LW radars are and know where the vectored fighters will be coming from without addressing those threats.

I knew this was going to come up. I have made distinctions between trace and track for this reason, and also used “see” for this reason.

So back to the statement.

You’re “assuming facts not in evidence” as NOBODY has ever made a claim to be able to detect “see” an F-35 from another fighter platform at 200 miles.

btw:
Detect = Knowing that something is out there but not knowing where exactly and you can’t do anything about it (no weapon usage)
Track = Knowing where it is and where it’s going (track is good enough for weapons)