4mastacker - spotter mode on - yes the MOD has spotters in it and the Air Historial Branch so ZM135 has been tagged for a long time for Lightning II due to the link with the previous Lightning. After a long time of JCA/JSF debate over what we call it everyone is now to call it Lightning ('cos CAS says so).
Not sure why we're arguing about USMC conops as the UK will be developing our own, including an AEW capability (Crowsnest). Scenarios vary but remember that with the proliferation of modern SAMs it's best to have something that stands a chance against them. Will we ever need to go it alone without the US? Who knows, maybe not, but surely it's better to know that we can if we have to? Lkewise with the USMC: better to know you can go it alone without USN support than having to rely on it. Remember that Libya involved no USN CVN, just the USS Kearsage (LHD) and maybe a few F-35Bs could have been useful on Day 1.
The benefits of COD are well known but LHD has to make do with V22/CH53. With CVS we made do with Merlin and a Lynx. For big items we took spares with us, or loaded them at port calls, examples being Pegasus engines and Merlin gearboxes. The F-135 engine can be split into modules or you have spares built on board. You just have to plan round whatever constraints you have.
Fusion is being tested on F-35A, B and C as well as the Catbird at Ft Worth. Why is any positive news on F-35 'propaganda' but any negative news, however ill informed, worth hearing?
Last edited by WhiteOvies; 28th Jul 2012 at 14:25.