You just made my point for me.

The Mig-35 has decades of operational Mig-29 experience to pull from while PakFa has no VLO operational experience to pull from.

I don’t want to hijack the PAK-FA thread so if you want to have a discussion about the below info, we can move it to the F-35 thread.

The only fighter that was designed to have about the same RCS from all angles is the F-22, F-35 itself has a frontal orientation.

That is not true and one only has to look at the extensive work done to the rear of the F-35 to understand that. Items like the LOAN-Style nozzle, complete lack of 90 degree angles (no matter what angle you view the F-35 from), serrated edges for all panels, all edges aligned, radar blocker for the engine exhaust (see pic below), etc.

While the F-35 does not have the same RCS from the sides & rear that it has from the front, neither does the F-22. They both have what is called a “bowtie” RCS pattern.

Here is a screengrab of an F-35 with the engine running. Note the integrated multistage AB flameholder & radar blocker.

I would imagine that A2G entails coming down low for the final leg due to the assumption that you will need to ID the target as opposed to dropping a JDAM on a pre-defined target. Cloud cover may also be an issue with a laser guided round also.

I do not know for sure why every service treats the profiles differently, just that they do.

Per last year’s Israeli F-35 PDF the A2A “Internal” combat radius is 760nm for the F-35A.

Start with the current CTOL range of 625 (per FY2017 SAR).

Then factor in the Flight Profiles in the A2A role, which are different than the A2G role in that the A2A role allows better fuel economy.

Throw on top of that the fact that a 5% SDD “range buffer” is still in place and you can see how 760nm is very doable in the A2A role.

Um… Post-WW1 Germany was nowhere near the state of Post-WW2 Germany.

You should have chased him out of Kuwait in 1991, give him few slaps and then let him be.

Kind of like how Germany was treated after WW1… How well did that work out?

Iraq fell apart due to the poor leadership of the last 8 years.

yeah you can use LHDs in Afgfhanistan. some wars can be at high altitude and mountains
the cheaper to operate is yet to be determined when every thing is taken into consideration. the close to action is joke. airbases need be properly protected with layers of security both in manpower and systems. fighters need to escort big transport planes. fighters needed to be in air incase fighter or chopper goes down than crew can be protected from insurgents. It was the daily use of bunker busting bombs from September in Aleepo that force them to surrender. No quantity of light fighters or UCAV can achieve that.

It’s ability to operate from an LHD is an “option”, not a requirement.

As far as “close” is concerend, now “close” was the Green Zone from the rest of the country? How about most of the FOBs?

Most of anti-Insurgant work done for the last 15 years was COIN related work, not big bunker busters.

I never said it can do everything, but it fills the gap between attack helos and jet fighters.

On the rescue front, the OV-10X can actualy land and pick the pilot up long before a helo can arrive.

how are you going to reduce cost by buying OV-10X? war on terror is vast playing field . that need gigantic airconditioned airbases, big supply chain of variety of bombs, missiles, bullets, fuel spare parts, self generation of electricity incase of local revolts.
Only aircraft that can go fast to the battlefield, longer range and loitering times, flexibility in different kind of weopons including bunker bustings bombs, good sensors and communication system and highly reliable for multiple sorties per day. plus ability to fly back of home bases for overhauling without putting them inside An124/C17.

Several reasons:

1. Most WOT (War on Terror) ops can be handled by COIN-style airframes
2. It’s much cheaper to operate than any jet or attack helicopter
3. It has the speed to escort V-22s
4. It can operate off of LHDs
5. It’s more versatile than any other COIN aircraft
6. They can operate close to the action so more missions per day with a higher loiter time.
7. Since we’re talking COIN, the weapons are smaller & easier to transport (50 cal, 30mm, 2.75 APKWS rockets, 5-inch LZuni, Hellfires).
8. Longer ranged, quieter, and faster than an Apache

There is a reason that the Marines used them for so long and why SOCOM was testing them out again (OV-10G+).

I’m not saying reduce the F-35 buy, just supplement it.