Originally Posted by
glad rag
are there any current or future platform that could do the same mission?
Current or
future? Sure!! In the future they'll have a starship in orbit with sensors that can detect a gnat approaching the carrier battle group. But on a more serious note, the F-35 currently has a suite of sensors unique to that aircraft and now it can share that sensor data with the battle group. No other aircraft can currently do what F-35 does in the arena of passive detection. When the Block 3 Super Hornets arrive they'll have an upgraded sensor suite that may (or may not) do everything the F-35 does. (The final block 3 configuration is not yet defined.)