USMC & USAF Pilots on the capabilities of the F-35

[Serenity]

I won't bother posting links to past threads, but I've been posting for a couple years about the USN's lack of a dedicated tanker post KA6D/S3/etc.  McCain's white paper is interesting in this regard, the USN is proceeding with the UCAV tanker, the MQ25 is its new designation, and in testing it has worked extremely well.  It's going to free up a lot of Hornets that can be strikers or CAP now instead of hauling gas, almost 1/3 of the Hornets in a carrier air wing in many scenarios. 

The MQ25A "Stingray" will be more than just a tanker too, it'll have the potential capability to defend itself with internally carried a2a missiles as an option, and also will work as an ISR platform, and be able to hand off targets, and do the same trick recently done with the SM6 and F35C working in combination.  All that as well as being a very low observable tanker.  The stealth part of the new tanker is a very important feature, as the Chinese have been making weapons and aircraft that are obviously dedicated to making long range high speed runs and attacks specifically on tankers and other larger, slower assets that are frequently orbiting/etc.  The USN's near future new tankers are going to be much harder to locate than previous tankers, which will give the USN a lot more options in where to put them, which opens up the playbook a lot for planning strikes, etc.
http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/archive/2016/december/Pages/NavyPutsProcurementofCarrierDroneonFastTrack.aspx

http://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/25bff0ec-481e-466a-843f-68ba5619e6d8/restoring-american-power-7.pdf

Exactly this.

[jollyFE]

F-35 seems to be doing ok at Red Flag.  Having participated in several Red Flags myself, they were always more difficult that when we actually went out and did the actual mission.

https://theaviationist.com/2017/02/05/f-35s-kill-ratio-with-aggressors-stands-at-151-during-red-flag-17-1-most-probably-thanks-to-the-supporting-f-22/

[PR3D4TOR]

“The first day we were here, we flew defensive counter-air and we didn’t lose a single friendly aircraft,” Lt. Col George Watkins, an F-35 pilot and 34th Fighter Squadron commander, said in a release. “That’s unheard of,” he added.

Sounds like a winner.

[Oldman731]

F-35 seems to be doing ok at Red Flag.  Having participated in several Red Flags myself, they were always more difficult that when we actually went out and did the actual mission.

So....we'd like to hear more about your experiences!

- oldman

[jollyFE]

I was on the CSAR/PR end of things but we had occasion to mix it up with 16s, Hips and Hinds.

[DaveBB]

I was on the CSAR/PR end of things but we had occasion to mix it up with 16s, Hips and Hinds.

So what did you fly on, CH53s?

[jollyFE]

HH-60Gs

[Vraciu]

F-35 seems to be doing ok at Red Flag.  Having participated in several Red Flags myself, they were always more difficult that when we actually went out and did the actual mission.

https://theaviationist.com/2017/02/05/f-35s-kill-ratio-with-aggressors-stands-at-151-during-red-flag-17-1-most-probably-thanks-to-the-supporting-f-22/

Okay because big brother is protecting it from Red Air. 

Meanwhile it is only deployable to air shows. 

[Dobs]

F-22 and F-35 working together...aahhhh synergy!!

First day they flew DCA with ZERO losses to blue..admittedly Day 1 is much easier than Day 6, but still...

For those who have issues with F-35, F-22.....think of it like this.

A swat team has a terrorist holed up in a house.  All the doors are locked, and windows barred....how do they get in? Usually you have one or two guys on "battering ram" duty who come up, knock the door in, and step out of the way...then the 8-10 dudes who are left go in and get the job done.

In the days of Double Digit Sams, AESA radars, and Coherent Air Defense systems...if a non-stealth flies into a double digit threat ring it will probably die. If that double digit sam is taken out, well the "door" opens. 

If we have Stealth sweeping, the chances of enemy air getting through are slim. We have been accustomed to fighting in a permissive air theater......we own the skies and even the slowest (A-10) can go in and only worry about ground threats.... When we have to fight a full up IADS, that is when the F-35/F-22s will really shine.  After all....you can't shoot what you can't see.  And if they are fusing sensors, and you can be assured they are, that combo makes for a deadly pair for sure!!

[Zimme83]

Whitout knowing how the excercise was designed there is impossible to draw any conclusions from the result.
Given the very limited loadout options currently available for the F-35 i suspect that the missions were constructed so that the F-35 could fly them.

[PR3D4TOR]

How is the loadout options limited?

[Zimme83]

Quite a lot of weapons are not operational on the F-35 yet, that limits the types of missions it can fly.

[PR3D4TOR]

Its air 2 air missiles are operational as far as I know. So are its jdams.

[Vraciu]

Whitout knowing how the excercise was designed there is impossible to draw any conclusions from the result.
Given the very limited loadout options currently available for the F-35 i suspect that the missions were constructed so that the F-35 could fly them.

This. 

15:1 kill ratio?   Compared to what?  How did the Typhoon do?  Are these direct shots or just assists through data link?

15 kills out of how many total?

This is week one.  Things get tougher from here. 

You're fighting small mouth Vipers with no IRST in a massive operation.   In basketball you can hide a weak defender via the scheme.  I guarantee you they're doing that here.   The Air Force is not going to allow their pet project to look bad.  And we all know they got busted for gagging their PR people with what they can and cannot say about the jet.


Context is everything.


There's nothing of substance in this 15:1 number as presently represented. 

[Vraciu]

Quite a lot of weapons are not operational on the F-35 yet, that limits the types of missions it can fly.

Not to mention it can only carry a max of four AMRAAMs--at the expense of all A2G--and the gun doesn't work, yet.