Originally Posted by
roving
Add to which the blue on blue in Iraq when an RAF GR4 was shot down by a Patriot missile when returning to its base in Kuwait in 2003, highlighted its vulnerability.
It suffered an IFF failure. Any non-stealthy ac with a similar problem and flight parameters could have met the same fate.
Unlike Scotland, there are no mountains or deep valleys in the Baltic region to snuggle up to. It is as flat as a pancake. To be a successful ground attack a/c in that NATO region of special interest, it needs stealth.
Not even the Americans intend to have a 100% stealth-capable attack fleet. The stealth ac need to be capable of suppressing air defences for long enough to get the non-stealthy bomb trucks in and out again; you can't achieve much with the internal bomb load of F-35!! And even over the flat sea, the radar horizon is still a useful ally against land-based SAM. Typhoon, F15E, B1 and B52 have years left in them and will continue to find employment.