Integrated with what? Fewer than 100 combat coded F-22s? F-16s that are questionably survivable? F-15s that are falling apart?
The JSF won't even have the F-16s performance. It will be closer to the Super Hornet, which happens to have greater capability in terms of weapons and decoys. The SH isn't survivable either.
Our air power roadmap is a giant fail.
Integrated with what? Is that your question? Ok let me explain...
The battle is taking place in a giant virtual map of the sky in a giant defense department computer. When a Russian jet goes wheels up, it's speed alt, formation heading etc, are tracked by dozens of satelites, radars, etc, all feeding data into the virtual map. Planes are vectored to bandits and are set up in firing positions, download coordinated to fire upon, all before the bandit is even within the planes sensor range. the F-35, as with the F-22, and probably hundreds of missile carrying stealth drones will be firing at, and killing targets they never made contact with. The fired missile will head to a location and go active to find the bandit and kill it, with little to know warning for the bandit. It may even be possible to get updated information on the way to the target.
It's very good odds that a Flanker will never even see an American plane in combat before it is despatched, let alone kill one.
The performance of the plane is the last line of defense for modern combat aircraft, not the first. I do not believe the Russians have demonstrated anything like that kind of capability in their fighter aircraft or air defense systems in general. In their long history of those planes fighting American hardware, their equipment, from planes, to radar networks, have been prey hundreds of times more often than they have been predators.
It would be one thing to say the new PAK, and some new Russian Air comand system are now
INTERGATED and have all that capability, but it's not very credible to say the Su-27 possesses powers it hasn't been able to demonstrate in 30 years of service.
Stealth is the science and capability NOT to be tracked from wheel up to combat engagement. The Su-27 has little to no stealth capability, so it is a flying target.
