Saddams Love Child
As I recall from the CAOC in TELIC the USA wouldnt allow the F3 to play a major part because they didnt have the right fit/comms etc and were not able to fulfil a multi-role, they didnt really need dedicated fighters because there wasnt a threat and the airspace was at a premium.
It was more to do with the current top airship who thought that the ALARM firing F3 was too immature - so instead of sending something that could reactively target EW targets he used an aircraft that could only fire PET shots
The comms fit was better than the GR4 by the way and they are Link 16 players!
The guys on the F3 OEU worked like demons to get ALARM and TIALD cleared for F3 only to have it all turned off by a mud-mover - Funny old thing, that..."Jobs for the boys" springs to mind. The F3 is a far better ALARM carrier than the present GR4 will ever be; unless they plan to fit TRD, a set of interferometers and some bigger donks...
Oh, and I will laugh my c@ck off when all you truckies and wokka-mates get monstered by a credible air threat in our next campaign - "we don't need fighters do we"!
Still my fighter days are over now that I'm a rubber-desk johnny...
LJ