Yup, pretty much expected responses, thanks muchly for the input.
If nothing else, that screwjack wing design on the F-8 was surely always going to be a load limiting factor, no? Bit strange though that upon appearances, the F-8 is the earlier generation.
But to be honest, not sure I agree with the premise of the question. Jag M strikes me as being a typically French wet dream of we'll sell a three legged dog to anyone, to max our top heavy state controlled aero industry. Never going to happen.
Versus a dedicated mud mover akin to a heavy weight version of the A-6 , we aint pretty and we dont care.
But then of course the answer is obvious, best between the A-7/Jag? The F-18