So you're saying that Stonecipher was "probably right" and "incompetent."
Nope. I'm saying that while the JSF requirement was written around a single main engine (lift/cruise in the STOVL version) it was to the best of my knowledge agnostic as to how STOVL was to be incorporated - other than requiring that it had to be demonstrated on test rigs and in the air within the schedule, which limited the field somewhat. While it was known that some people on the customer side were strongly opposed to LPLC, there wasn't a requirement that eliminated it. Indeed, the MDC team selected LPLC under a government-funded concept definition and design research contract awarded in Dec 1994, so to argue that the customer specifically ruled out such a solution seems strange.
Last edited by LowObservable; 1st Feb 2019 at 20:01.