Originally Posted by
imperial shifter
How about playing the ball and not the man. The Mig 29 has an intake setup where when on the ground the "flight" intakes are blocked and inlets from above (put very simply!) are open to mitigate against FOD when taxiing on dodgy soviet strips. What defence / capability to withstand does the F35 have against bird ingestion or FOD? Serious question!
Given the size of the mainwheels and 'mudguards' on the nose wheels I'd say the aircraft was designed to operate onto austere fields on occasion. That probably meant they needed and engineering solution to block the main intakes. The F35A is not designed to operate on anything other than a conventional well maintained runway - it therefore doesn't need the same solution. Incidentally - extra complexity, weight and the potential issues with signature are also reasons to avoid using it on the F35. If you do need to operate from an austere field, LM would point you towards the F35B.
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