PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - V-22 Osprey Air Refuel F-35Bs for CVFs? + other stuff
Old 12th Oct 2013, 13:10
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LowObservable
 
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SS - Quite interesting discussion of the use of a recovery tanker - which underscores the point that the Marines have managed without one since before the days of disco.

With a small, thin wing and low-bypass engine, the JSF is going to be less able to throttle back and ration fuel than an AV-8B in a recovery situation. One result is that usable operational radius will be highly dependent on recovery scenarios and (consequently) fuel reserves overhead the ship.

This may be the reason for various discussions about what the RN considers to be the practical operational radius of the F-35B, versus a KPP based on assumptions and projections made back in the 1990s.
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