I have rarely seen an RAF FJ, Jag, Tornado, Harrier etc without a couple of external tanks in day to day operations - training or war. Clean wing might win out in the competition to buy, but doesn't last into service.
The biggest apparent downside, and I would love to be disabused, is that the wing pylons will be dry - hence external weapons, but not fuel. So you are looking at a jet with a short range and no way to extend it without AAR, which means a permissive, (air supremacy) environment.
The sensors depend on high bandwidth data-links. Please look at the latest reports concerning the work down to provide F-22 information outside the force. The required data-links are barely available within the US forces, taking L16 as an example you are looking at a minimum of 20-30 years, if ever, to allow other forces access to the technology.
The above, in the US forces, justify the fact that the performance is no higher than that of the F-16, no more is needed. Any other force operating the aircraft requiring to use external stores, fuel or weapons, without the permissive environment, will be operating an F-16 in a Mig-35/Typhoon environment....
Bottom line, if you are in a US aircraft, with all the data-links, data, and AAR , it's the ideal solution. For anyone else I would look very, very carefully at what, outside the basic system was guaranteed in the contract. The UK still hasn't got any firm commitments even on the software on the jet, let alone the links.
Last edited by ORAC; 22nd Jun 2008 at 16:32.