Hey Junky, question for you. I've seen a couple videos of F16's and one of an F15E doing strafing runs. They usually only get about 3/4 of a second of fire on target by the looks and sounds of it, probably due to their high speed as you were saying. This means less than 100 rounds, probably around 50 or 60 I would guess considering the spool time of the M161.
Question is this: How effective was 50 or 60 rounds of 20mm on infantry targets in your AO when you were there, if you heard anything about this from others who had CAS strafe from 20mm equipped a/c? Seeing the dispersion of the rounds in the videos that others were talking about, it doesn't look like a whole lot of saturation in the targeted area. Is the effectiveness of this type of strafing with 20mm from tac fighters more of a "show of force" benefit than actually an effective killing weapon vs light infantry? I have no formed opinion of this myself, just wondering what you as a soldier very familiar with air support versus enemy foot mobiles thinks.
After watching some of the AH64 videos of the M230 shooting those 10 to 20 rounds bursts, it's obvious that a hovering, stable platform like an attack helo with thermal sighting and computerized fire control is far superior to these fast jets strafing for CAS vs infantry, to the point of my questioning if 20mm from fast jets is effective whatsoever.
I can't answer for Junky, but here is what the IAF thinks about jet strafing: don't do it. It is not worth the risk. The damage is low and every schmo with an AK47 can shoot a 50 mil$ plane down. The only time what it is worth considering is when you WANT everyone to shoot at the jet, instead of at a more vulnerable/valuable target that is coming in. Those occasions are very rare and the jet does not have to hit anything - it will either make the enemy duck and bury his face in the sand, or focus its attention completely on the strafing plane. Either way it get the intended result. Damage is not required, so the gun does not matter. The cannon is there to shoot planes down.
You have to remember that the #1 cause of battle loss is projectiles from the ground. Not enemy planes, not SAMs, not shoulder missiles. The one thing that should be avoided at all costs is to fly low over the target.
Whenever America goes to war it is invariably her carrier forces that first enter the fray. The F-35 will be the USN's only stealth aircraft, and it will have to do everything. That's the kind of aircraft that appeals to nations that can only afford to operate a small air force.
Oh, and Israel, Canada and Norway are getting custom versions specially adapted to our needs. In our case that means drag chutes for landing on short icy runways.
Israel had two major reasons to invest in the F-35: one is that the US will not sell the F-22 to Israel. Israel has a use for a stealth fighter/attacker given the history of various nuclear facilities, factories and weapons shipments exploding mysteriously in neighboring countries that have full soviet air defense systems and airforces. So far, F-16s F15s in combination with special means achieved stealth. A true stealth fighter/bomber can probably make it easier.
The second reason is that it was a rare opportunity for the Israeli airforce and industry to request modification in the development stage. Usually Israel gets a stock fighter, then would like to pull out a lot of junk that comes with it and insert its own sh** and gizmos instead. Sometimes the US allows (when their industry is desperate enough) modifications at the production line. Sometimes not and then the IAF and industry have to work around the original, which is less than ideal.
Many are not happy in IAF about the decision to invest in the F-35.
