Originally Posted by
Jackonicko
The recent MITRE US Air Force Aircraft Inventory Study says:
A MITRE Corp senior principal systems engineer, David Gerber, subsequently said (on 5 September) that: “an armed F/T-X, if adapted to carry armament, onboard sensors, and air refuelling capabilities, could adequately defend the United States while being cheaper to operate than fourth- or fifth-generation fighters.”
Isn't a degree of performance important for the air defence role? Endurance to CAP, climb performance to get to height quickly, speed to intercept.....?
It is not an unrealistic question BUT issue would be Air National Guard units want to be flying same equipment as USAF/USN and no Senator will allow his home state to have what is percieved lesser equipment than USAF etc.
In addition as Air NG units are frequently deployed overseas then you lose the ability of them to use same aircraft as full timers.
It has no chance as Politics come first.