USAF News and Discussion

[Todjaeger]

Multirole is often driven by the Navy, who wants a single flexible type operating from ships, also from smaller countries who don't want to operate a heterogeneous fleet and can't offer niche platforms for niche capabilities. Which is why USAF platforms are entire weapon trees not integrated on some platforms, and entire capabilities are missing. They want to go back to the original days of a F-16 and F-15.

Except for many of the later versions of the F-16 in USAF service, or the F-15E and F-35

In other words, the USAF has operated many multi-role aircraft, with such developments coming as a result of US successes in achieving air superiority and then supremacy over conflict areas as well as managing IADS rollbacks. AFAIK at present the air superiority missions conducted by the USAF are the domain of the F-15C and F-22, some ~330 fighter aircraft across the USAF vs. some 1,300 multi-role fighters made up of F-16's, F-15E's and F-35's.

 

[StingrayOZ]

Except for many of the later versions of the F-16 in USAF service, or the F-15E and F-35

F-15, F-16, F-35 don't have LRASM, AIM 174B, integrated. So their naval strike capability in a peer fight is zero.

Some light small, glide bombs and a2a missiles is pretty limited multirole, and multirole is a spectrum rather than a tickbox. F-22 multirole capability is very slight. F-35 is missing loads of weapons until Blk III comes online. JSM, Spear3, LRASM. F-35B has more restrictions with internal carry and integration.

No Aim-260 on the F-16 either, and not on the earlier versions of the F-15 which make up the bulk of the US fleet.
With this announcement of cutting F-35s, I am not seeing an increase in F-15EX. So less platforms firing modern weapons.

Compared to say China.. has what? As of today? 500+ J-20s all firing PL-15 or PL-17? Faster, stealthier, better radar, more agile, more range than US fighters even with drop tanks, and far longer and more modern munitions. And adding 100 more per year. Pitting J20 against older block F-16 and F-15 would be a crime against the USAF. Particularly with no functional US AWACs capability, and neither have IRST?

While a F-22 with aim-260 is pretty good, again, no awacs, out ranged by munitions, and out numbered probably 4 or 5 to 1 would be a tough ask. The Chinese wouldn't even need to shoot them down, just out generate sorties and wear out the logistics bin and flight hours.

J-35 is perhaps in serial production, so that will be ramping up as well perhaps even exceeding J20 production annually. Multiple modern aircraft production lines. Combined with their existing legacy production lines.

The calculus of the US cutting production for the USAF is hugely impactful.

 

[John Fedup]

WRT the TR3 and Block 4 software, not sure if “basically done” is exactly right. Even if this is correct, the enhanced F135 ECU has been delayed by one year (maybe more) so 2030 at the earliest which means insufficient cooling hence greater engine wear. A real shame AETP wasn’t applied to the A and C, sufficient cooling for TR3 and a 25% range increase. As for the apparent demise of FA/XX, perhaps the 25% range increase supposedly offered by FA/XX was deemed insufficient for a new very expensive jet. A F-35C with an AETP engine would offer the same range and should be considerably less expensive. In any event, 14 billion dollar CVNs need jets with much greater ranger…or really powerful lasers that can deal with missile swarms.

 

[Todjaeger]

F-15, F-16, F-35 don't have LRASM, AIM 174B, integrated. So their naval strike capability in a peer fight is zero.

Some light small, glide bombs and a2a missiles is pretty limited multirole, and multirole is a spectrum rather than a tickbox. F-22 multirole capability is very slight. F-35 is missing loads of weapons until Blk III comes online. JSM, Spear3, LRASM. F-35B has more restrictions with internal carry and integration.

No Aim-260 on the F-16 either, and not on the earlier versions of the F-15 which make up the bulk of the US fleet.
With this announcement of cutting F-35s, I am not seeing an increase in F-15EX. So less platforms firing modern weapons.

Compared to say China.. has what? As of today? 500+ J-20s all firing PL-15 or PL-17? Faster, stealthier, better radar, more agile, more range than US fighters even with drop tanks, and far longer and more modern munitions. And adding 100 more per year. Pitting J20 against older block F-16 and F-15 would be a crime against the USAF. Particularly with no functional US AWACs capability, and neither have IRST?

While a F-22 with aim-260 is pretty good, again, no awacs, out ranged by munitions, and out numbered probably 4 or 5 to 1 would be a tough ask. The Chinese wouldn't even need to shoot them down, just out generate sorties and wear out the logistics bin and flight hours.

J-35 is perhaps in serial production, so that will be ramping up as well perhaps even exceeding J20 production annually. Multiple modern aircraft production lines. Combined with their existing legacy production lines.

The calculus of the US cutting production for the USAF is hugely impactful.

Except that the teen series USAF fighters (or at least some versions of them) do have examples of the AGM-84 and AGM-158 integrated with them, providing anti-shipping and standoff strike capabilities, with the JASSM-ER providing a standoff capability in excess of 900 km. In short, the USAF has a large number of very capable multi-role fighter aircraft which can provide a variety of capabilities.

Now yes, not all fighters have all the capabilities and the US and USAF specifically are still developing some new capability sets (AIM-260 is not yet in service AFAIK) so it is quite possible that potential adversaries might have their own versions of a capability in service first. However, that leads to the conundrum of building a better mousetrap and raising a smarter mouse.